Going into a new year, people typically set New Year’s resolutions. However, while the start of 2022 marks a new beginning, the world remains plagued by a pandemic. The unusual environment deeply impacted both individuals’ and groups’ goals for the year.

“Covid and being in quarantine definitely affected my goals for the new year. Because when you’re sitting at home, you just have so much more time to go on social media and your instinct is just to grab your phone… and see what everyone’s up to all the time, every single second,” said Robyn Day (‘24). “I realized I needed to start making more of my own happiness and finding happiness outside of social media.”

After a year of quarantine, many students have found themselves with plenty of extra time at home. What should they shift their focus to? Academics? Hobbies? Or sports?

“My New Year’s resolution definitely includes sports. I think the pandemic kind of changed how special sports are to people. Personally, I find even more value in it now. I like to go to the gym more often for exercise, too,” said Kurtis Thomsen (‘24).

Of course being more motivated to excel in school is also a common resolution. Whether it be conquering a hard class or taking more time to study, sometimes making small changes in academic habits can make the biggest difference in academic performance.

“I think Covid affected my academic goal a lot, because of the amount of time I have to procrastinate. So I hope to study more, stop procrastinating and just try to be a better student,” said Jack Cochrane (‘25).

The pandemic has changed people as individuals, but it has also transformed how they spend time with their peers. Amador’s leadership class has been working hard to make sure the school’s annual events occur as usual.  Using the first semester as reference, they are in the midst of organizing their new objectives and goals.

“Now, with this current surge in Omicron, it’s making things really difficult for us to navigate and try to plan things really well. Our biggest concern right now is Junior Prom… and Senior Ball. We’re probably going to have a more limited amount of tickets for these events compared to the previous years,” said leadership advisor Shawn Weber.

While the pandemic’s onset in March 2020 affected nearly every aspect of life, it has taught people new lessons in gratefulness and adaptability.

“The pandemic has created some drawbacks, but we’re just going to have to go with the flow and adjust to the new year as necessary. Flexibility is important, and our goal is to keep the school events safe and fun,” said Weber.