I’m going to be completely honest with you! When I accepted to write this article for our next session, I thought it would be something that would be kind to do, but also easy. Like most bigger assignments, I was given plenty of time to start, and write, this paper. But like most big busy teens, my internal clock, misplaced somewhere in a dirty pile of laundry, kept ticking with no regard to this paper. Tick! Tock! Tic! Tock! Slowly, but surely, the painful ticks, and troubling tocks, kept magnifying in volume until they were so loud that they could no longer be ignored. So, I sat down and finally reel in my brainstorm fishing rod to see what ideas I could pull out of the depths of my subconscious. And No! My idea was and is not just me talking about not having an idea, and then finding the idea for my idea to be about finding my idea! Rather, it simply took me such a while to find my perfect idea because of how my quarantine was affecting me.

Now don’t get me wrong in that there are several great things about this quarantine, like sleeping in, having more free time, and still admiring the legend that is Senor Rodriguez in any form of his teaching (we love you Senor), but keeping a good and consistent work ethic has been almost impossible. It has even gotten to the point that, despite having so much more time to do my homework, I am still up very late doing homework work simply because of a loss of consistent focus. The same chair, the same computer, the same everything, can truly drive a person mad! Recognizing my new state of existence and my descending sanity, I knew I needed a change of pace. This brings me to my main reason for writing to you today. Because all of these things have been getting me down, but one thing brought me out of my depths. And, I want to share that with you.

As uncool as a mandatory family walk might normally sound to some, these walls are the one thing that have truly turned my attitude around during this quarantine, and they mean so much to me. Knowing that I am one, two, even seven hours away, I get more excited about our walk than my dogs. The original problem was that when I’ve been working in my room, I’ve unconsciously felt alone, and everything started to blur together into an indistinguishable blur of digital days because everything seemed the same. These family walks, however, give me something to look forward to each and every day. They provide me with an escape from my everyday life to a place where I can not worry about anything to just be my plane self. These family walks have re-energized me for my classes so that I am able to be my normal and excited self in learning and being in class, because I know that every day, whether good or bad, will be the best day ever because of my family walk. Not to mention, that I actually get to spend some real quality time with my family. Now these walks are everything as I am still typing this at eleven o’clock because I am still slow from spending too much time on homework because I can, and even right now I am a little sad because I’m running on fumes missing all of my friends. But, these daily walks have meant the world to me and have given me a new appreciation for actually and truly being with my loving family.

So overall, I hope I haven’t bored you at all or made you cry, but rather I wish that through this I share a part of my internal spark that has kept me going. Like Robin Williams said “You’re only given one little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it” and even though we don’t want to necessarily go mad in this case, I don’t want any of you to lose the passionate and amazing person that each and everyone of you are. In this hope, I am looking forward to parents possibly forcing their children to do the same because of one student’s article on the Miner Detail or so forth. In the end, I hope you all stay safe and healthy! I love you Manogue! And I hope that I can somehow help, even if it is simply through this essay, to remind you all to stay motivated and proud of the incredible people you are.

Sincerely and proudly a Miner,

Sean Michael Sedlak!!!

We can do this Together, everyone! And don’t forget to get your kids off their lazy butts, because I’m surly glad my parents got me off mine and into a new hope!