In March of 2020, the new normal was born along with the spread of the highly contagious disease known as Coronavirus or COVID-19. I, and the rest of the world, were going to have to come to terms with the fact that our lives were going to have to be on ‘pause’ for a while. That meant important events like prom, Friday football games, and even in-person classes were going to have to change, or not happen at all. At first, I was okay with having a break from the everyday stresses of high school, like whether the girl I like likes me back, or if the test I have in the fifth period is going to have multiple choice. I was okay. What I failed to think about was how adapted I was to this student life. This halt on everything in my life had a larger impact on me than I expected; I was overwhelmed with what the future would look like. After some research on stress relievers, I found the practice of meditation, which has been helpful and used for basically all of human history. With all the time I now had on my hands, I was ready to try it, so I picked a random Thursday, and walked down to the lake near my house. 

Now, the purpose of stable mediation is to reach a mental state where your mind is essentially blank. So to achieve this, I laid down and sat criss cross. I turned on a timer so I wouldn’t think about how much time had passed; I then closed my eyes and began. At first, I found it very hard to get my mind blank. I kept thinking about school, how much I missed my friends, and when this virus thing was going to end. This was very frustrating for me because meditation was supposed to be a solution to my discomfort, but it only made me worry. After about ten minutes, I got tired of worrying and I focused on nature. I would sit there and listen to birds chirping, the water hitting the shore, and the leaves rustling in the wind. This distraction helps me get to the point where I’m not thinking, funny enough. After about 30 minutes, my timer went off, and I opened my eyes to a beautiful lake, hearing the amazing creatures living and inhabiting the area. I began to realize and appreciate nature in a different capacity from meditation. All of sudden the world around seemed a lot larger than the worries that had been weighing so hard on my mind.