My journal

Wednesday– 16th December, 2020

I woke up this morning feeling both happy and excited. That was to be expected, I guess, since it was Hanukkah and we were on holiday. However, that was not the only reason I felt that way. I was looking forward to a basketball game that was scheduled for tonight. The opponent team is better than ours, so on the one hand, my expectations were not very high, but on the other hand, I was looking forward to a challenging match and maybe, somewhere in my heart, I was also hoping for a surprising result in our favor. I was also excited because some of my friends play on the other team.

I have just returned from the game, and although this match was only a practice basketball game, I am extremely disappointed. We lost big time! Even though our odds were not very good to start with, I didn’t expect such a big loss. At the end of the game, our coach talked to us and we analyzed the game in order to learn from our mistakes. Hopefully, we will do much better next game!

Monday – 21th December, 2020

A description of my actions yesterday would suggest I had an ordinary Sunday. 

I woke up at 7:30, had breakfast and went to school. At noon, after school was over, I returned home, had lunch, did my homework assignments and prepared for another basketball game that was scheduled for that evening.

However, this was no ordinary day, and in fact, our lives haven’t been ordinary for almost a year now, ever since the pandemic Covid-19 has burst into our lives and has changed almost everything we know in our world. Therefore, a lot of normal and ordinary actions we used to do automatically, on an everyday basis and without thinking twice about it, became all of the sudden, unusual and are not taken for granted anymore. For example, going to school and meeting my teachers and friends face to face, having classes at school rather than through Zoom, or meeting my extended family. I miss all those things and more. I really hope we will get back to normal life and to our routine soon now that Covid-19 vaccine has been developed and brought to Israel.

Friday – 14th january 2021

An important object or activity

My name is Guy and the activity that is especially important to me is basketball.
I have been playing basketball for many years, and last year I was finally accepted into the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth team, which was something I was aspiring to achieve. 

In fact, basketball has always played an important role in my life. Even as a small child, I used to play basketball as often as I could. Nowadays, as part of Maccabi training program, I have a strict routine which includes hours of training four times a week, sometimes even more. 

Moreover, although I study everyday for many hours because in addition to my studies in school, I participate in some off school programs like “Bar Ilan” and “Ness”, I never miss a practice or a game. I really love playing basketball and I love being part of the team. Furthermore, I have met many of my friends thanks to basketball, such as my teammates or friends I play with in the neighborhood.

Undoubtedly, without basketball my life would have been very boring and less joyful. As I pointed out before, I spend a lot of time studying, and basketball gives me  physical and mental relief, and therefore basketball is extremely essential for me. 

Monday – 1st february, 2021

My life during Covid-19

The corona Virus has undoubtedly affected the whole world and forced it to adapt itself to new ways of living. As everyone else, I also had a lot of changes in my life during the last year. In school, for example, I had to get used to studying through Zoom instead of in class and this is not easy for me since it is tiring to study this way for hours. Furthermore, I have ADHD which makes it even harder for me to concentrate especially in this way of studying.

Another big change in my life is that my basketball trainings were either cancelled or being done through Zoom. Hence, I have decided that during this time, especially during quarantine, I would put in more effort on my physical strength practices than usual.

The Coronavirus has also affected my social life. Since public places like movie theaters, restaurants and schools have been closed, I haven’t seen many of my friends in a very long time. Therefore, friends that live nearby and I meet only when it is permitted, outside at public playgrounds or at each other’s houses.

I actually miss going to school so I could see more of my friends and also, as I wrote before, it is easier for me to study in school. Moreover, it would be nice to go out instead of spending hours at home.

I think that the full implications of this crisis are yet to be seen in the following years. However, I would suggest to both the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education to weigh carefully their actions before making their next decisions and to keep in mind the mental, social and educational harm that is being inflicted on our generation due to closing up the schools. I believe that there are ways to keep the schools open while still protecting the public’s health. It is required to make an effort in planning and finding those ways, especially since it doesn’t seem like the Coronavirus is going anywhere soon.