“… and remember, only you have control over what kind of day you choose to have, so please Ross, make it a positive one,” stated English teacher Mr. Brian Smith over morning announcements just last Thursday, March 12. 

These words ring familiar to the ears of students and staff alike here at RHS. However, I don’t believe we understood the magnitude of them until our lives quickly flipped upside down. 

With orders from Governor Mike DeWine to temporarily close schools across the state of Ohio due to the present threat of COVID-19, our daily schedules look quite different.

Junior Tim Guenther, an exchange student here at RHS said, “I’m very annoyed by all the corona discussions because they’re cancelling so much fun stuff that I would’ve loved to get to experience. I hope I can stay. I hope they don’t send me home because of that. But I think that it’s out of our control.”

The global imprint this virus has made is undeniable, and it’s safe to say we all will be impacted by its weight in the months to come. But I believe there’s an opportunity for growth during this time, despite being distanced from our community and what we know to be normal.

“If I’m not pushed out of my comfort zone, I don’t have to learn any new skills. . .I can just stick to the status quo and then what? I’m never changing or growing or seeing life differently,” said English teacher Mrs. Kirsten Main.

Too easily we become complacent and ungrateful for the life around us. And while we may try to blame shift, there’s no denying that our attitude affects our mindset and future as well. We become apathetic people with no drive to better ourselves or the people around us.

Main stated, “I’m a staunch believer that you were put here for a purpose and nobody fills your spot but you. So if you don’t live up to the task, there’s nobody else who can take your place and then the rest of all the people you’re supposed to influence miss out.”

If we were all put here for a purpose, then what we’re experiencing is by no means an accident. I know for some it may be difficult to see how any of this would be good. But that doesn’t change the fact that you specifically are living through it. The days ahead will offer an opportunity to look through a unique lens and help form the person you’re becoming if you let it.

Guenther said, “I think everything shapes us. That’s also why I’m here. I’m not here to learn and study algebra 2. I’m here for the experience. I’m here to see how different people do different things and I’m here to learn from them.”

We may not have the power to control what happens in life, but we can control the way we respond to such atrocities. So before you turn your brain on autopilot during this extended break, remember that the moment in front of you counts and there are now endless possibilities available.