The Benedict News Spring 2021 Edition

COVID and Me
Have you ever loved something even before
you deeply get into it?
That’s how it was. My plan was to come to
the U.S. to finish my studies and play
soccer. Before 2020 started, I promised
myself that this was going to be the year
of my life. Unfortunately, my expectations
were shut down.
The prospect of getting into a new school
and coming to the United States was
something my family and I prepared
ourselves for throughout the year, mentally
and physically, praying to God as we sent
all the documents needed to apply to St.
Benedict’s Preparatory School.
I remember it as if it were yesterday, still
speechless and so grateful. One Saturday
morning I was deep in sleep; my mom
suddenly woke me up, crying and smiling
at the same time. Right away I started
praying for the dead!
Instead, the application results had arrived.
I had gotten into St. Benedict’s. It was a
relief. It was exciting. I had always gone
to the same school since I was a child, and
going to a different school in a different
country was amazing. So I just had to wait
for the current year to conclude to travel to
New Jersey.
My expectations met reality. I loved the
beginning of 2020. It was a whole new vibe
and, like everyone else, I thought I was
going to kill it this year. However, like
everyone else, I began to think differently
on March 12, the day the Coronavirus
pandemic started in the Dominican
Republic.
By Guitze Rodriguez
I thought it was a joke at first. Then a
one-week quarantine turned into two, then
three, then four weeks, then months:
Everything suddenly stopped. The U.S.
Embassy in DR closed its doors. I was stuck
and anxious, unable to travel because I
could not get the exact type of visa I needed
to come to the school. Everything now was
uncertain.
A virtual school year ensued, good for some,
terrible for others. The school year started
off completely virtual, and as you may
think, I was completely lost at the
beginning. The pandemic forced me to
avoid interacting with new people, which is
heaps easier if done physically. I was still in
DR taking classes, plus, I could not attend
soccer tryouts.
Finally, I was able to participate in tryouts,
and I was able to make my way to St.
Benedict’s. And, to make this year even
more ridiculous, when I got here, I found
out that, due to the intensity of the
pandemic in New Jersey, the soccer season
had been cancelled.
I never imagined a first day of school that
could be virtual. At first, I was quiet and
uninvolved during my first classes. Under
normal circumstances, I would have liked to
pass through the famous corridors of St.
Benedict’s, walk from classroom to
classroom, and joke around with my
classmates. It felt kind of boring but
amusing. I was sitting for five hours on the
same chair listening to someone talking. It
did not seem appealing at all.
I spent every day after school in my normal
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