2020-2021 Fifth Grade Honorees and essays

In March of 2020, I knew things were going to change. The pandemic not only had an affect on the world’s social life, but my school life as well. I knew I had to persevere. Wouldn’t you agree that perseverance is important to today’s world, especially during the pandemic? Here are the reasons why I had to demonstrate more perseverance during the pandemic.

Learning virtually is one reason why I had to demonstrate perseverance. Although my teachers were always encouraging me, I had to encourage myself. At times when I wanted to give up, I had to keep pushing because I knew my goals for this school year. I knew I had to do everything possible to make it to 6thgrade. In today’s world, especially during the pandemic, you have to make better decisions because if you want anything in life, you have to be determined to get it no matter the circumstances. I had to humble myself, work harder, and make smarter decisions and what better time to start preparing for my future than now! Perseverance is very important because it enables us to persist in the face of difficulties. It can help you stay motivated and continue towards the  things you want to achieve. 

As I conclude, perseverance can help and guide you towards striving for a goal. You can make better decisions not only for yourself and others. They will begin to follow in your footsteps and persevere. These are the reasons why I believe I have demonstrated perseverance more through the pandemic. 

I think the most important character trait that I’ve had to demonstrate during the COVID-19 pandemic is, Responsibility. Since this pandemic has begun, the school has changed. Even though I still come to class twice a week, it is still my responsibility to be on time for class every day, listen to the teacher as she is presenting our lesson, complete all of our assignments, and upload them to CANVAS. It is also my responsibility to participate in class as well. Some of my classmates don’t participate in class like they should. This is not showing responsibility for keeping up with class assignments and listening to the teacher. Hopefully, they will not have to repeat the 5th grade again this upcoming school year of 2021-2022. 

It is my responsibility to complete my assignments for all of my classes so that I can earn good grades. Ultimately, it is my responsibility (not anyone else) to log onto Microsoft Teams for class, listen in class, complete and upload my assignments before the deadline date. Sometimes, students may blame their parents for not getting their classwork done or having a weak internet signal. This is not right or fair to parents. Most parents are working hard and trying their best to provide everything they can for their children. It is our responsibility as students to do our best work in school and make our parents and ourselves proud. The responsibility is OURS and no one else’s.

The Covid-19 pandemic has been hard on so many people. However, during this time I found courage I didn’t know I had. So, the character trait that I demonstrated the most was “Courage.”

I demonstrated courage because before this awful pandemic I didn’t really believe in myself. Now I really truly enjoy writing, reading, and having fun without having a lot of people around, I make my own fun. I’ll be the first to admit, I gained courage during this pandemic by really doing things that I would have never done before Covid-19. I demonstrated courage, by doing the safe and right things during the pandemic. This took a lot of courage because as a child it’s hard for us to always find that courage to do what we’re supposed to do. Courage has really changed me throughout this pandemic. For example, being more respectful to others and myself. I’ve also demonstrated courage by being brave, to do the things I like and not letting my fears get the best of me. I say that because I found the courage to not be afraid. 

There is no doubt, that I found courage during this awful pandemic known as Covid-19.

I think that responsibility plays a big role in the pandemic. My nana has trusted me to stay at home because we could not go to school. Two ways I have had to be responsible at home is I have to do some chores and I watch my cousin Elin. Another way I have had to be responsible is by going to the store or paying for and pumping the gas in the car. As you can see, if you are responsible people can trust you. If you tell a lie to your parents, grandparents, or a guardian you can get in a lot of trouble. If you tell the truth, they can trust you and that would be being responsible. I have had to be responsible all my life, but this pandemic has made me have to be more responsible than ever. Being responsible also has to do with how you take care of the environment. One way you can take care of the environment is pick up the trash and do not litter. You get rewarded if you are responsible, if you are not you may get in trouble so do what you are supposed to do and follow the rules at school, home, other’s home or at a store. If people were not responsible the world would be dangerous because no one would watch their kids, do chores, or take care of the environment. Everything would be a mess.

I feel the character trait that I’ve demonstrated throughout the pandemic is joy. I always enjoy coming to school. I live in Orangeburg with my foster mom, and school is where my friends are. When school was closed I went to school on the chrome book. It was different but I still talked to my friends and teacher and kept my joy. I like telling jokes and making my friends laugh. It makes me happy. I asked my teacher every day, “When will the school open up?”

When school open back up I was really happy. I like to smile and say “Hello” when rolling down the hallway. Everyone knows my name. My friends help me a lot because I sit in a wheelchair. I tell them they are my “best friends” all the time. 

The corona virus has changed school a lot. We can’t high five anymore, and I like doing that. My teacher can’t give me a hug in the morning like she used to do either, but I am still happy and have joy every day that I get to come to school. I am learning new things every day and have free time on my iPad, and all of these things and more gives me joy. 

The character trait I had to demonstrate more during the pandemic is Obedience. Being obedient means “willing to do as told by someone in authority”. 

At first, I didn’t understand why we had to stay home all the time, and why we had to wear face masks everywhere we went. I also didn’t get why we couldn’t go to church, school, play with our friends, and visit our family members. My mom talked with my sister and I and told us that there was a virus called Covid-19. She said that it could make us very sick and that people could die from it. I started getting scared. The government made rules stating that wherever you go a face mask must be worn and stay six feet apart. When we came to school two days a week, the rules were different. We sat far apart in class behind a glass. We had to wear our masks unless we were eating or drinking. It didn’t feel the same. It was good to see my teachers but I wanted things to be normal. I couldn’t even go to the hospital when my mom had my baby sister. It made me sad, but I had to be obedient. 

Being obedient during the pandemic helped me to stay safe and not get sick. If we can all be obedient then maybe one day things can be normal again. 

The character trait that I have had to demonstrate most during this pandemic was perseverance. Perseverance is an important trait to be able to demonstrate during a pandemic because of all the challenges that we have had to overcome.  I have had to persevere through many difficult situations. For example, I used to play volleyball, but now we are not allowed to practice or play games. That was so hard for me to deal with, but I persevered and I focused my attention on dance. Even though I could not attend church because of the pandemic, I did not let that stop me from learning about God. Virtual learning is another situation that I had to persevere through. This was one of the most challenging tasks that I have endured so far. It was challenging because there were technical issues at times.  I had to learn how to use new tools and strategies to help me learn, which required me to push harder than usual. 

Living through a pandemic has been hard, but it made me a better student and it brought out my strengths and my abilities. This taught me that no matter what the challenge is, always persevere because ultimately, it is the drive that you have within you that helps you get through any obstacle.  

As an Orangeburg Preparatory School fifth grade student, I truly believe that I had to demonstrate dedication more than any other trait during the COVID-19 pandemic. I believe that hard work and consistency are a big part of helping get rid of COVID-19. Things that I have done to help are encouraging others to keep their hands clean. To cover coughs and sneezes. Also to keep our masks on and to wear them the right way so the mask can protect ourselves and each other. While along the way we also need to encourage everyone to get vaccinated. 

We all need to be dedicated to defeating COVID-19. If we all do our part, the sooner we can get back to normal. I know many people are sad or lonely because they cannot be a part of a “normal” life. The normal life of when we could hug our family members, have family gatherings, and take trips. I especially want seniors to be able to graduate and celebrate with their friends and families. Since that is an important part of life. We all need to be happy and get our lives back. I am dedicated to helping the cause and to stay positive.