Dealing with and adjusting to life with the new COVID-19 pandemic has been very hectic. As an athlete and a student my life has changed dramatically in the past four weeks.

Before this pandemic grew into the global crisis it is now, my typical day started when I left my home at 8 in the morning to  go to school and ended when I arrived back at home around 9:30-10 a.m. after my gymnastics practice.

As a competitive gymnast, I train around 24 hours over six days a week. As soon as my regular school day ended, I would rush to my gym to start practice at 5 p.m. Once I finished practice at 9 p.m., I would go home and immediately start doing my homework. Most nights I went to sleep around 12 or 1 in the morning. This schedule might seem overwhelming to some but it was my normal. I honestly couldn’t have imagined doing anything different. Little did I know my whole life was about to change.

Now I am quarantined at my home with my family, with my only outside contact being my backyard. This jarring change was scary and frustrating at first. All I wanted to do was to go back to normal life. I miss my friends, teammates, classmates, teachers and really just everyone! Being away from everything and everyone that makes me happy (excluding my family) has been hard.

While this time has been very frightening and stressful, I know that quarantine and social distancing are the best ways that I can help flatten the curve and protect myself and loved ones. This change has made me more aware of the little things in life I used to never think about.

One thing I’ve learned is to be grateful for having a normal day to day life. We tend to take things like seeing your friends in person or going to in-school classes for granted. Now that I can’t do these things, I have realized how important they are to me.

I have tried my best to stay active and keep my mind occupied. Luckily, my coach has put together a schedule of zoom meetings where my teammates and I will condition and train together. While I do not have any equipment at my house, I am making do with what I have. I feel very blessed to be a part of such a loving and supportive team. Being out of the gym is hard, but I know it is for a good cause.

Even though my life has drastically changed and I am looking forward to returning to my normal schedule, I know that by the time we get there I will be a more grateful student and athlete and I wouldn’t be surprised if the rest of the world is too.