The Freshness

 By Alina Yeoh

The first week of the fourth quarter ended with an email sent by Mr. Penland informing students that sports games during lunchtime are allowed once again. When I checked out this email, I was in the hallway waiting for the X-block to start. Quite a few students were preparing themselves for sports—some sitting on the benches simply for relaxing and having fun. I walked myself to the tennis court while a smell of vitality floated in the air. At that moment, this place suddenly brought such a freshness to me.

Two years ago, I was lucky enough to come to Dalat, but I could also say that I had the misfortune of being enrolled during the pandemic. During these times, students have either had to follow the rules of not being able to participate in activities or take classes online. Even when we finally returned to school, we were unsure when we would be back to the computer and locked up at home. This back-and-forth created a lot of resentment among the students, including myself.

Since I was a new student at that time, I didn't even have the opportunity to engage in the events mentioned by most of the students. Therefore, the image of Dalat has been formed with emptiness in my mind. No one was wandering.

As Sophia Kang (12) said, "I miss the day when we could stay after school until 5 p.m., and just sat on the swings to watch the sea view with friends." I regretted that I might not experience the same thing as others in the past until I graduated.

Fortunately, that was not the case. As the situation turned stable, many things began to emerge. And I finally attended the X-block activity and stood on the tennis court for the first time. Not only did I feel fresh when I enjoyed time with my friends after school but watching students chat with each other because we didn't have to rush home made all the difference.

Even though we still couldn't linger after school for a longer time than before, there was a return of intramurals to change the circumstances. The epidemic made people lose enthusiasm. I couldn't represent everybody to say that intramurals would help switch the mood immediately, but at least we have the chance to make new memories with people in the school. As one of the seniors, I wish to carry this freshness to the end of high school life.