OHANA

Most people believe that their families are unique and set apart. Any family holds fast to its own set of traditions, customs, values, and events that are integral to its history and interrelationships. These building blocks of a family include certain religious beliefs, yearly visits with grandparents, special holiday celebrations, and simple things like sharing a daily meal. All of these beloved aspects of family life came undone for many people when the coronavirus pandemic descended upon the world in 2020, the first one since the influenza pandemic in 1918. It was a globally challenging time for all aspects of society, but it was particularly difficult for many people at the family level—fathers and mothers lost their jobs, students in all grades were forced to participate in asynchronous learning, and incoming high school freshmen across the country had to experience one of their most pivotal years of life online.

In spite of all this, especially having to enter high school through the Internet, I am grateful to God that we were able to persevere through the COVD-19 pandemic. If not for the pandemic, my family might not have experienced the wonderful transformation that it did, my heart might not have been softened to accept the truth and change, and my physical health might have continued on its pre-pandemic downward spiral. Don’t get me wrong—the isolation and the toll COVID-19 took on my mental health was not fun and I would not wish that experience on my worst enemy. However, when I look back on 2020 today after gaining perspective over the past few years, the long-term manifestations of the pandemic have been nothing but blessings for me as I look forward to the rest of my life. I will delve deeper into what exactly those blessings are and why I consider them as such. I would also like to share with you how those blessings have shaped me physically and spiritually and how they have established in me a firm foundation for the rest of my life.

One of those blessings is how COVID-19 affected my family. We were thrust into a situation that we had no control over, as were most people, and we used our creativity and resourcefulness to navigate our way through it. The pandemic not only brought us together by keeping us physically in the house, but we were able to hone our creativity and uncover valuable attributes about ourselves that will help us in the future. Through resilience, we were able to make the best of a rough circumstance.

As a thirteen-year-old, I was certain that my family was fairly close-knit, a family that rejoiced in one another’s successes and commiserated together in our failures, a family that listened to each other, and a family that simply cared for one another. I wanted this sort of close relationship with my family and I truly believe that my family had a special