Community members hold up the weight of the world

Julia Roseborough

There’s a new president in office. The global COVID-19 pandemic is worsening. Riots are breaking out on the streets. Climate disruptions grow. Millions of deaths are occurring due to the pandemic. These are just some of the many significant news stories that have come out over the past year. While these things may seem a rather big picture, the minor problems remained to be prominent.

In the last 12 months, motivation has been lacking for many, teen suicide rates have skyrocketed, children and adults have taken school online, and people are essentially isolated from all other humans in many places. These problems may seem minuscule in comparison to the worldwide ones; however, the effects they are having on the everyday life of many is far from negligible.

One’s ability to separate the small and large scale problems without letting the weight of everything in the world sit on their shoulders may be one of the greatest strengths or weaknesses people can maintain during this time. The key many have found to this is balance: acknowledging what is happening but not letting it absorb you entirely.

Many find different ways to cope with the scenario, including Carlmont English teacher Erik Migdail.

“Sometimes, it’s important to compartmentalize different realms of your life. I’ve been able to create a better boundary between my work life and my personal life,” Migdail said. “In the final analysis, it’s just one life in one world that I’m living. Time is a subjective experience, and though this all seems interminable, it will terminate.”

Migdail’s view has allowed him to maintain certain tools to handle his lifestyle during the pandemic as best he can. He finds the big picture scenario by recognizing that nothing is truly infinite, and bad things often find a way to blow over.

Ava Bozic, a junior, has found herself rather disrupted by all the occurrences in the world. The effects they’ve had on her personal life and the outside world have caused her to recognize the significance of events that had not previously been as greatly acknowledged.

“The events in the outside world definitely have disrupted both my mental state and day-to-day life. Some things that have happened are really unfortunate and cruel, and it’s sad to see certain narratives continue,” Bozic said.

Many young students find themselves feeling conflicted, as the vast amount of occurrences in the past year have brought both negatives and positives.

“I have felt simultaneously motivated and unmotivated, and I think at times it was really wonderful to see many people coming together, yet events that followed show the lack of care among so many people. I would say I’ve slowly grown more pessimistic, but as progress continues, inspiration may rise again,” Bozic said.

Many small and large movements over the past year have displayed this controversial feeling. With every little victory seems to follow a battle, many of which the entire world is facing. Some people have taken this battle into their own hands as they strive to find ways to best use their actions during these difficult times.

“I have taken action for the rights of others and learned that I can make a difference. In my own home, watching my family’s world as they knew it suddenly come to a halt inspired me to aid in making it as positive of an experience as possible,” Margaret Starace, a Carlmont parent, said.

As people strive to find the hope left in the world, it is essential to understand that the light at the end of the tunnel will not cease to exist, and there will be progress.

“Don’t think about what you’ve lost, but try and figure out what the positive aspects are and what this experience has meant. What have you learned about yourself and your resilience that can carry you through and serve you in good stead,” Migdail said.

Rather than taking it as a defeat, Migdail views the time lost as a lesson and something to grow from. When taken a look at, the idea stands that when the outside world is uncontrollable, the most significant thing one can do is find ways to control themselves better.

The fact is thata pandemic will occur on estimate every 300 years. It just so happens that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has shifted into a new presidency, an uprising of movements, and various other impactful actions.

“This is not the first catastrophe humanity has faced, as our entire history is marked by catastrophe and disaster. And we have always found ways to grow and prevail, and ways to do better through every setback,” Migdail said. “Be a part of helping humanity heal and to grow and to do better.”

If nothing else, the past year has shown that with the good comes the bad. In a famous quote by Mark Twain, it is suggested that without this balance, life and joy and everything in between would cease to occur as it does in today’s world.

“What is joy without sorrow? What is success without failure? What is a win without a loss? What is health without illness? You have to experience each if you are to appreciate the other. There is always going to be suffering. It’s how you look at your suffering, how you deal with it, that will define you,” Twain said.

Julia Roseborough