Sesen Yacob, Staff Writer
For many students, this new school year has forced them to step back into a world they once knew well but now find themselves reorienting to each day. This new year has brought them to a sort of “in between” space where they feel themselves transitioning out of a pandemic and back into familiar routines. But with this new beginning comes stress and worry about how to deal with the world as it is. It can be a challenging time.
Paint Branch senior Sesen Yacob is one of these students, but if there’s one word to describe Sesen, it’s hope — hope for the future, for new experiences, and for better and brighter days ahead. This is why Sesen is choosing to keep a positive outlook throughout this transition into a new reality.
Like most students, Sesen’s experience in virtual school and social distancing last year due to COVID was a hard blow. “Oh my god it was terrible. I hated it. I hated it so much,” she recalls. “We [couldn’t] go out so you’re just stuck in your house.” With one of her primary destressors being spending time with friends and staying out of the house as much as possible, being forced to stay in the house and have to build up whole new routines from scratch during the pandemic was demanding.
Thankfully, Sesen was able to push her way through and make the most of her time with the help of music. “I use it to escape from reality. It’s just like a way to avoid people, avoid everything, even school. It makes me feel like I’m by myself,” she states. When asked what her own theme song would be called, Sesen responds with, “‘On Repeat.’ My life just keeps going in circles, nothing new ever happens.” This is probably a sentiment shared by many students. “I feel like once I leave high school it’ll be a new title.”
Whether she’s traveling, just spending time with friends, or enjoying life outside of her house, Sesen will continue to look toward the future. However, while she is doing so, she’ll keep one foot in the present so she can enjoy the upcoming season. Sesen’s favorite time of the year is fall. “I love it so much. I feel like the weather’s just perfect,” she says with a smile.
By Jago Prates
