My Experience Through Pandemic

Written by Tony Lu, FCSN South Bay W.I.L.L. Client

This whole pandemic experience was very sad and confusing for me. There was so much that happened, but through it all, I’m glad I was able to come out alive. I recall the different activities that we used to do at FCSN, such as the SBWILL Day Program and the field trips I used to enjoy so much. In March 2020, we were all told that we needed to stay home because of safety, and we were just starting to learn about COVID-19 in school. I remember going to Church a lot with my family to pray for everyone to hope to be back soon.

At first, it was great to be home with my family and having a little break. That little break became bigger and longer, and pretty soon we were all in this new setting. What did FCSN virtual classes mean? I didn’t understand at all. How could I learn and have fun without going to FCSN? On top of it, I had difficulty connecting my iPad because of some technical difficulties, and I would ask my sister for help. I also did not know how to turn my iPad on and off. I had to learn many technical skills quickly. My schedule was also disrupted when I could not connect to the virtual classes on time; I was so confused and frustrated.

It was really challenging for me to continue FCSN classes at home. After a month of adjusting my schedule and following FCSN’s schedule for virtual classes, I learned to like it and having a schedule with a link to click on was great because it was a very new experience for me. I enjoyed the virtual classes and felt happy because I had fun participating in many different classes, such as Zumba class for exercise, Lego class to work on different models and following instructions, Email class to learn about how to send messages with my email, Happy House class to learn about what to do around the house, Virtual Field Trips to visit different places, and Games class playing my favorite crossword puzzles. It was fine for me to do my arts and crafts projects at home, and it was also a great feeling seeing all my friends again on Zoom. I was able to make my own choices and explore new classes. I miss the activities that we used to do, as well as my teachers and friends.

Client Council was also a very new experience, and it started during the pandemic. I was excited about it and even though there were different groups of people who were voted in, I was able to win the votes and become the Vice President of the council. Being part of the council, I didn’t know what to expect, but with the support from my teachers, I felt like it was simple to do and I felt like I was making a difference.

When I was finally able to go back to FCSN for in-person learning, I felt extremely excited because I missed seeing my old friends and old teachers, and I also missed all the activities we did before the pandemic. I felt relieved to come back to FCSN. I missed my old teachers, but I’m excited to meet my brand new teachers as well. I was even able to celebrate my birthday! I am hopeful that everyone can return back to school every day next year, and I hope that the coronavirus pandemic can end soon. I can’t wait until all my friends come back again to FCSN.