With the quick spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, more students have been quarantining and schooling from home through hybrid learning. The days slowly drag on as they stay in their rooms, isolated from the rest of their family. Several Bonita Vista High (BVH) students faced boredom while waiting to return to in-person learning, but a few found ways to keep themselves occupied during their at-home schooling experience.

Senior Kiara Sandoval was informed of being in close contact with someone who contracted COVID-19, resulting in her having to do her school work from home for about a week and a half. Although she stated that she was able to keep up with the coursework in her classes and received help from her teachers, learning on her own was a roadblock in itself.

“I definitely believe it was a struggle learning by myself,” Sandoval said. “I found it more annoying to have to take more time to teach myself something that a teacher could have taught me in half an hour.”

She rated her at-home schooling experience a seven out of 10 (one being the lowest quality and 10 being the highest), and when asked whether she preferred schooling from home or in-person learning, Sandoval said she preferred schooling from home. For her, being at home meant more free time to do the things she wanted.

“Basically [I] spent time with family. I would watch movies with my dad, play with my dog or hang out with my mom. I would help out with chores. I couldn’t really do much because I was always at home, but it wasn’t that bad. I would bake cookies [and such],” Sandoval said.

However, unlike Sandoval, seniors Ashley Escamilla and Kurt Tan had to quarantine due to getting COVID-19, and they found their schoolwork much more difficult to do while at home. Escamilla rated her schooling experience a five out of 10 while Tan rated his experience as a three out of 10. They faced similar challenges such as a lack of assistance from teachers.

“There was no Google Meets open or anything [of that sort], so I was learning on my own,” Escamilla said. “I emailed my teachers but most of them didn’t get back to me,” Tan added on.

Both Escamilla and Tan said they preferred going to school in person as opposed to learning from home. Furthermore, Escamilla and Tan experienced boredom throughout their time quarantining at home as they struggled to complete their school work. To solve this issue, the two did activities together to pass the time.

“We [her and Tan] do outdoor activities away from other people. We went cycling a few times, played a lot of board games too,” Escamilla said. “Exercising, I do that regularly, but I brought him along and board games [were] just out of boredom.”

Staying at home also entails distractions. Tan was not affected by his home situation, due to his house usually being quiet. However, this was not the case for Escamilla and Sandoval, who both had to deal with distractions at home.

“I have a lot of family, so they were around all quarantine,” Escamilla said. Similarly, Sandoval stated, “My family was a distraction in itself since they were continuing to live their lives as normal, forgetting that I was doing schoolwork.”

Ultimately, all three students had to experience schooling at home due to the current situation with COVID-19 at BVH. Staying at home meant boredom, but they found ways to keep themselves busy while dealing with their academic struggles.

“I tried my best to keep myself busy, but obviously being in a house all day can be boring,” Sandoval said. “I just accepted the situation and made the best of it.”