A look on the bright side

Natalie Doud

While it’s difficult to ignore the negativity the world has endured in the past year, it’s important to shed light on what has gone right and acknowledge the accomplishments that have accompanied the chaos.

Through this time, many noticed immense self-growth as increased isolation allowed for self-reflection and a stronger sense of individualism.

“The pandemic has really taught me to be grateful for everything and to focus on what I do have, rather than what I don’t,” Aanika Tiwari, a junior, said. “I’ve learned to appreciate the little things in life and have definitely become a more halfglass-half full kind of person.”

For some students, like Noah Camerino, a senior, the pandemic enabled them to experiment with varying personal interests unrelated to academics.

“The pandemic has allowed me to explore who I am outside of high school. There isn’t that constant pressure of what everybody thinks about me, so I can really just focus on myself and what I like,” Camerino said.

Aside from personal growth, the pandemic has also allowed many to grow closer to their family and friends because of the growing feelings of loneliness during shelter-in-place orders. Many have refurbished past relationships and even formed new ones despite additional challenges brought by virtual interactions.

“I think there have been a few things that have resulted positively from the pandemic. For instance, I have been able to get much closer with my family as we are able to spend a lot more time together,” Lise Teyssier, a junior, said. “And although social media definitely has its downsides, it has been quite

useful in staying connected and meeting new people.”

With Carlmont’s move to a completely online format for school, the Associated Student Body (ASB) has been trying to ease the transition into a more individualized structure by providing new virtual events and outlets of support for students.

Camerino, who is also the ASB president, said, “I think we’ve put a ton of effort into supporting the students and giving back to the student body in general. Things like drop boxes for the students or Instagram competitions aren’t things we have really focused on in the past, but I’m extremely happy with how they’ve worked out now.”

On a national scale, younger generations have been increasingly involving themselves in social justice issues and educating themselves on contentious world issues, which is a step in the right direction. Many people took to social media to urge others to vote and use their voices as much as they could. According to NBC News, the 2020 Presidential Election saw the highest U.S. voter turnout since 1900.

“I think the transition to online has kind of bridged a gap between the younger and older generations. In November especially, there was a huge emphasis on having younger people vote and get involved politically, which historically we haven’t seen in a long time,” Camerino said.

On top of this, the environment has been immensely impacted by the pandemic as stay-at-home orders resulted in fewer cars on the road and decreased human activity. As found by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, there have further been significant improvements in air quality and water pollution in cities worldwide.

The U.S. has also taken a bigger step towards equality this year with the LGBTQ community.

In June, the Supreme Court ruled that a civil rights law protects gay and transgender workers from discrimination in the workplace, according to The New York Times. Further, in January, President Joe Biden signed an executive order lifting the ban that prevented transgender Americans from serving in the military. More recognition has also been given to Black Americans as Vice President Kamala Harris made history becoming America’s first female, Black, and Asian American vice president.

Despite the increased push for social justice in the U.S., there have been continued challenges nation-wide. Yet, instead of viewing these instances from a negative standpoint, it’s crucial to consider them learning opportunities that reveal the dire need for political and social change.

“I hope lessons will be learned because of this year, and positive growth can occur in the future. Perhaps we will look back to see that so much of the pain that occurred was unnecessary. It’s all a result of bad decisions made by people with misplaced incentives and insufficient levels of anger and action from those who are lucky to have their needs met, like myself,” Andrew Ramroth, a math teacher at Carlmont, said.

While this year in a pandemic was not an easy one, there were still many aspects that can hopefully brighten perspectives upon retrospection.

Ramroth said, “My happiest moments aren’t rooted in fancy bells and whistles, but conversations over food with kind people. I hope I will be more mindful of my appreciation for those in my life and that they will know my appreciation as well.”

Leanna Gower

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, life has been seen as a letdown as events were cancelled, jobs were lost, and over 2 million lives were taken worldwide. Through the fog of quarantine, many struggle to see any good that’s come from this pandemic as we near the first anniversary of lockdown.

That being said, one thing the pandemic has revealed is hope for the future of our planet. Since the beginning of humankind, people have invented and improved, continually pushing the bar of innovation higher. However, these breakthroughs continue to take an enormous toll on our environment. Overfishing, overhunting, overproducing, and overusing natural resources has caused Earth to come down with its own pandemic: climate change. The UN Intergovernmental Panel found that the damage to our planet will become irreversible in less than a decade, caused mainly by natural resource overusage and overproduction of what we put back into the environment. But when the pandemic hit, citizens were sent home, and stay-at-home orders issued them to stay there. As a result, humans were forced to cease the constant exploitation of the planet.

While the recovery seen in nature is only temporary, they bring hope to those worried about our planet’s future and offer opportunities for the people in charge to take action to regulate emissions. As far as the changes go, they’ve been seen most noticeably within air quality, water quality, wildlife, and carbon emissions.

“I think that the decrease in emissions showed us that there are no excuses in lowering emissions for the future. We know it’s possible we’ve seen it with our own eyes; now we just have to pass regulations,” Katerina Gaines, a junior and climate change activist at Carlmont, said.

Early on in the pandemic, the Venice canals in Italy showed clear water for the first time in over a year. However, this was not due to a stark decrease in pollution. Rather, it was caused by a decline in traffic that allowed sediment to remain unshifted. Meanwhile, in Sardinia, Italy, locals noticed a rare sight of dolphins swimming through the ports.

When India first went on lockdown, the streets became empty as companies rapidly decreased their production rates. As a result of this decreased human activity, residents could see the white peaks of the Himalayas from 120 miles away for the first time in 30 years. Aside from visible improvement, air pollution decreased by 44% in just the first week of a nationwide lockdown, according to India’s Central Pollution Control Board.

In terms of wildlife recovery, most fishing operations have halted. The Smithsonian Magazine reported that the biomass of fish nearly doubled in European waters due to halts in overfishing. In the Bay of Bengal, scientists saw sea turtles laying eggs for the first instance in a long time. As foot traffic decreased, they could ultimately reclaim their nesting land.

Just by April 2020, statistics from the Nature Climate Change journal showed that daily global carbon emissions fell by 17%, researchers predicting that it could help with the 8% reduction quota we need to meet annually to save our planet. Even though the emission drop was only for a year, it has shown the easy cuts we can make to reduce emissions.

These developments are astounding yet remain temporary, and most have already been washed out as businesses reopen across the world. But in times of fear, changes have brought us all hope and provided ideas for improving our global footprint.

“The world should know that we don’t need a pandemic and mass amounts of deaths and suffering to lower emissions. Lowering emissions is entirely possible; we have the technology and the money. There are no excuses at this point as to why we can’t lower emissions because we can,” Gaines said. “We have to lower emissions if we want to prevent the extinction of the human race. All that is left is to do is for our government to invest in its citizens’ lives and the future of the Earth instead of their short term profits.”

Ava Richards

Group hangouts and parties? Against the rules. Movie nights at the theatre? Shut down. Sports events? Volunteer experiences? Gone, canceled, you name it. As our lives moved entirely online, the pandemic altered opportunities to have fun and express ourselves. However, many Carlmont students took advantage of the newfound time to be adventurous with new hobbies and escape the boredom paradigm. BAKING

Mixing sugar, flour, eggs, and chocolate chips, then baking at precisely 350 degrees, freshman Jerylin Fry discovered baking when the stay-at-home order first began. She struggled with the pandemic and the inability to see loved ones, so she started using baking to take time for herself.

“I’m a super extroverted person, and being kept inside with only three people gets to my head,” Fry said. “Pouring my creativity into baking helps me vent and deal with all the stressful things in my life.”

Though Fry typically only bakes for her family and friends, one of her goals this year is to start pursuing the hobby professionally. This would enable her to branch out and use her talents for good.

“Starting a small baking business is something I’m looking into. A while ago, my dad auctioned my cookies for a school fundraiser, and I was surprised how much people wanted them,” Fry said. “So having a business, making people happy, would be really fun.”

Her business plans are still underway, so in the meantime, Fry is thankful that baking remains just a hobby. She gets to experiment with more recipes, such as soufflés, and practice her technical skills. But most importantly, she can bring joy to others.

“Even if I’m not with people right now, I can bake for the people I love and send them smiles,” Fry said.

Running around a colorful map, hunting down enemies, and strategizing with his team, sophomore Jake Generalis has spent his quarantine streaming first-person shooters like Rainbow Six Siege and Valorant on Twitch. He wanted to use his platform to escape the real world and have fun.

“Streaming is definitely an outlet for stress,” Generalis said. “Especially when I compete in the High School Esports League, it’s fun to stream matches and interact with everyone in a competitive environment.”

His favorite part is interacting with his friends and the people that support his content. However, it took time to build up his community due to the disadvantage that small creators have on the algorithm.

“At first, it was a struggle because I would simply go live with no other content to help push my channel. I didn’t care about my amount of viewers until the pandemic when I started being an active part of my friend CapheenN’s streams, and now my community is essentially a byproduct of his,” Generalis said.

Generalis’ channel continues to grow, but he doesn’t let it change him or his motivations for creating content.

“I don’t really care to make my streams successful or profitable,” Generalis said. “I never want it to feel like a job. The moment I am afraid to press ‘go live’ is the moment I’m done with streaming.”

Although she has been drawing and taking photos for most of her life, junior Angelina Colombo experimented with a new artistic hobby during the stay-at-home order: painting.

“Before the pandemic, I was scared of painting, but all the time allowed me to try without any pressure,” Colombo said. “I followed along with a Bob Ross video, and, despite it being cliché, it opened my eyes. I’ve found a way to express myself.”

Colombo typically paints people or humanoid figures in obscure settings with motifs of noses or dripping objects and enjoys experimenting with elements she had been unfamiliar with before.

“Painting is stimulating in a way. I like trying different styles or methods, even if figuring out perspective or a color combination can be frustrating. The process and the act of working through my problems make it worth it,” Colombo said.

Although she isn’t as experienced as her peers or inspirations, Colombo is ‘going with the flow’ on this artistic journey and looks forward to practicing with black canvases and oil paints. But really, she values that her newfound hobby provides an avenue for emotional growth. “My technique is underdeveloped, so it closes some doors with how I paint and feels restricting sometimes,” Colombo said. “So for now, my painting is more expressive than technical, but I’m always learning.”

Weaving yarn through needles and working monotonously on garments, senior Maya Kaileh used quarantine to challenge herself to learn knitting. She originally only wanted to recreate the famous Harry Styles cardigan but was quickly enamored by its relaxing qualities.

“It’s amazing that knitting can provide a fun and artistic outlet for me,” Kaileh said. “Typically, I spend a few hours at a time knitting because it’s so easy to lose track of time while listening to music. It’s really just a form of escapism and time to de-stress.”

Knitting can be quite a time-consuming process, especially with such a large project like a cardigan. Nevertheless, Kaileh is more than willing to work through any hiccups or time commitments.

“Knitting can be frustrating since it’s quite the process at times. Typically, my hand cramps after working for a while, which is painful, or I mess up entire rows of my work. But despite all the small things, I’m always proud of the result, which is something that makes it all worth it,” Kaileh said.

In the future, Kaileh hopes to continue to work on her skills and technique with more time and practice. While smaller garments such as hats and shirts are definitely on her radar, she is just happy to have found a way to spend her time productively.

“Hobbies of any kind are the best and most fun way to express yourself and set you apart from others,” Kaileh said. “If you love what you’re doing and it makes you happy, you should be really proud of yourself.”

Ava Richards