My Journey from DR to IAL by Arlenys Payano De La Cruz, 7th Grade

 Arriving 
It was August 2019 and my mother came to the USA.  And she said that I would stay here for two more weeks. The two weeks passed and she told me that I would stay in the USA and that I wouldn’t return to DR.  That was the worst and the best moment of my life. I didn't know how to feel. I couldn't stop thinking about my friends, and it was hard to accept the idea of ​​not having friends where you are.

Orientation day
I was nervous. I went to the school with my aunt and when she was leaving  I told her  to don’t leave me here, I was petrified of this new life. I didn’t have any friends in school yet.   That day I met Ms.Kinney. She helped me and I asked her if I could go upstairs with her. She said it was ok, that I could go. Then I met Ms.Cuateco; since then we are friends. It’s not that bad having  a teacher as a friend. That day I also met my best friend, Leimy.

First Day & Advisory
The first day  I  was lost and nervous because I was not used to changing classrooms my teachers used to in the DR. I thought I wasn't going to understand anything, but I did. It was hard but I kept going. Leimy and I spent all of our time together. And I made other new friends.  I also loved advisory and  had so much fun with Ms.Santana. She played a lot of games with us and gave us great advice.

January-March 15th 2020 
During the months of January and February, I was not happy with my grades.  What was happening was that I was not focusing on my work, I was not doing enough, I started bringing my grades up. Suddenly, on March 13th the schools were closed and I thought we’d be back on Monday.  However, that hasn’t been the case. 

March 15th 2020- present
Since March 15th we are in social distancing, supposed to stay at home, classes online. This is hard because sometimes you need your teacher to explain in person, to be next to you, but now it’s not possible.
Some days I don't even know what to do, it's like I'm lost for a few seconds and I've done so many things at home.   I have done everything [Tik Tok,instagram,clean,watch movies,netflix,hulu,disney +  ] and others and now I don’t know what to do. I just want to go back to my normal life.
Eventually I found out I made the Junior Honor Society.  I was surprised and so happy!  The JHS celebration helped me feel a little normal again.

Summer?
I think this summer is hard because we need to stay at home and it’s probably gonna be hot .Summer at home is going to be like being in the oven. I hope corona is leaving. I don’t want to stay at home.  I don’t know why I feel like this but when I’m at home for too long I feel sick ,not actually sick but sick & tired of being at home.  ​
The question on my mind and everyone else’s is: What will happen next?