End of Semester Reflection

Back in May, for the online segment of the class, Mr.Paterson was one of the first teachers to have online calling classes in our grade. Usually, we sit next to our friends and it is really easy for us to ask questions of our friends during class. However, when we were online this was restricted and simply sitting in front of a screen listening to the teacher was quite a unique experience and honestly a little uncomfortable. Moving on, during June we came back to school but in very small numbers. I remember being so beyond excited to physically see my friends but since we had had such a long break, I did not realize how physically and emotionally tired I would get. Moreover, being told to keep a distance with friends and constantly having to care about hygiene and so many other strict restrictions got a little overwhelming. Notwithstanding the difficulties and challenges we had to put up with, the teachers were so understanding and acting so smoothly even under a pandemic which was so inspiring. 

Gradually as our "normal" lives came back, I became used to washing my hands, sanitizing, wearing a mask, etc... However, what I was flabbergasted by was hearing that people in America are not wearing masks because they want to be "free". I've heard that citizens are even causing protests because they do not want to wear a mask and several conflicts are being broken out. To me, and especially living in Japan where masks were normalized way before this pandemic, this is absolutely not understandable. I come to school by train and pass some of the busiest stations in Japan, so not wearing a mask is literally unacceptable. As the world is put under a pandemic, the death rates differ according to the country and thinking about why these differences occur and why some countries are more 'on top of it' is something I have been thinking about recently. Although this semester was pretty overwhelming and I am finding myself so fatigued and drained, I am trying to stay positive and really living this pretty irregular time. 

Overall, by far the major skill I've developed this semester was my ability to utilize online tools that were introduced to us by the teacher. My literature has improved immensely this past semester and without a doubt, the online tools should be credited for this drastic change. At one point during the semester, I was only caring about numbers and scores and comparing myself to others. However, after coming a long way, I've finally come to the point where I can achieve pretty high scores and truly utilize each tool depending on what I want to improve and what information I want to obtain. I really enjoyed experiencing and comprehending the burgeoning field of online technology and the possibilities it holds in areas of academics. Looking back at this semester, I am so grateful to have learned these tools at a pretty young age and am quite impressed with myself for putting in the effort almost on a daily, to acquire everything I can out of these tools. 

Thank you for a great semester! Have a great summer!