Name: Christine Joy C.

Cuello

Course: Business Management

Schedule/Time: T TH/5:40PM-7:20PM

"My Journey: Towards Embracing The New Normal Way Of Learning Amidst
Pandemic"

The COVID-19 pandemic is the defining public health epidemic of our time.
Now we have hit the horrific mark of one million deaths. The human family is
experiencing an almost unbearable strain of loss. Yet the pandemic is much more
than a health crisis; it is also an ongoing socio-economic crisis. The COVID-19
pandemic is a vast challenge to education systems. Most governments have been
keeping up with the exponential spread of COVID-19, so institutions have had very
little time to plan for a remote-teaching regime. This Viewpoint offers guidance to
teachers, institutional heads, and officials on addressing the crisis.

Moreover, education moves online, at an untested pace, without precedent.

Many universities and colleges replace conventional assessments with online
assessment methods at higher education. This is a new area for both teachers and
students, and assessments will likely have a more massive measurement error than
usual. Student evaluations often pass online with a tremendous amount of testing
and errors and confusion for both. Many families worldwide are experiencing
significant short-term disruptions: homeschooling is a major blow to parents' income
and children's social life and learning. Many tests were revoking. Importantly, these
interruptions are not only a short-term problem, but they can also affect the affected
cohorts in the long term and increase inequality.

The global imposition of educational institutions would result in a significant

(and potentially unequal) interruption of learning among students, disturbance of
internal evaluations, and cancelation of or substitute for available qualifications;
every country needs to act immediately to prepare, respond, and recover with the
pandemic.

Unexpected circumstances happen at an incredible time, mainly this COVID

19 Pandemic that we have been experiencing worldwide. The normal face-to-face
class turns into virtual learning that has been a significant problem for everyone—
being at this stage where you can't predict what would happen next and when would
it end. This experience is very significant to me as a student living in a third world
country where internet connectivity is inferior, a student living in an area where
mobile data, text messages, and calls are hard to access. Also, living in a home
where people cannot understand my situation in dealing with this new normal
learning way.

The shift to a new normal way of learning has become a tremendous

challenge to me; at first, I am expecting that it is much easier for me to adapt to
these changes because my former school is already utilizing and using e-learning,
specifically Quipper, as our mode of learning. We adapted the 21st-century tools to
empower us, students, learn independently at our own pace, and engage our
parents to be more involved in each child's learning. But, entering college is entirely
different from this new normal way of learning, where the college life is a state where
helping one another is essential to survive. A person who would offer a shoulder to
hold on is a blessing, and the one which you will be at times of trials and breakdown
because of the tons of school works is a gift, and someone who would lend an ear to
listen to your unending rants and dramas is essential. But, at today's time, you had to
deal with all of those alone by yourself and face every challenge that may come on
your way.

Adjusting myself from a different perspective is entirely hard, from being a

very talkative student who wants engaging lessons, a student who wanted a new
experience every day, and someone who had a hard time doing things alone is not
comfortable. With this kind of personality that I had and the behavior, I am
accustomed to is new and challenging for me to manage.

There is one time during the 26th of August, I felt so irritated and I don't want
any noise from my surrounding, and I was bombarded with a lot of activities and
stuffed to do. I woke up at 7:20 in the morning for my 7:40 am class. I ask my sister
to be quiet since she is talking to someone over the phone. I will be having my class
on my bed, and I felt sluggish to get my headset from the cabinet because I sleep
late; specifically, 3:00 am. I also asked her to transfer to another room so that I can
focus on listening to my profs. But instead of giving way for me, she pissed me off
and kept continuing what she is doing and not being considerate about my favor.
She became louder, and it caused us to fight that it seems to appeared that she was
doing it intentionally.

You might think it is too shallow to quarrel with, but we already had small
fights before then. At times when I was immersed with pieces of stuff, she would still
push me to do household chores even our parents told us that I am exempt from
those things, knowing that my sister doesn't have many works to do and even a
single obligation in our house. Since she already stopped schooling and she had
nothing to do so. But, she tested my patience and kept on annoying me on things
that I don't like and made me not focus on my school works.

Despite all the trials that I need to deal with this new normal way of learning, I
am very fortunate enough to have my friends, even when we are distant from each
other. There are still there to lend an ear to listen to all my concerns, where I can
burst out my tears since they are the only ones who can relate what I am going
through. At that time, when anxiety hits me so badly, there are the ones who are
willing to listen to my unending cries and sending me virtual hugs. Friends who give
me pieces of advice and words of wisdom to learn with, at this time when I felt so
down this where I prove to the world that I had the best friends in the town where I
can rely on when I needed them most, friends who I can be in times I am up and at
times when I was so down.

At this challenging time, I will surely never forget that God is with me
throughout the struggles and trials that I have been through; his scriptures reminded
me to fight to be more and to become more. Like what Ateneo de Davao University
would always teach to be Magis or more in everything we are doing. Especially
when reaching out God, I must be committed to ever more union with the will of God,
even more, union with the Cross of Jesus Christ, in the Love of the Spirit. In times of
trials and confusion when I had nobody to be with, I must reach God more to give
answers to my whys. Magis is also the openness to growth that we set ourselves
and our commitment to sharing that growth with others. The Ad Majorem Dei
Gloriam or All for the Greater Glory of God! It had become my driving force on facing
this experience wherein this is the motto of every Atenean. In Ignatian spirituality,
this is a great grace for which we pray: to know the Jesus, Lord intimately, to
understand the way he feels, and to understand how he felt, and to live with him as a
friend. In every circumstance that you are going, you cannot surpass it without the
help of God. When I had problems, I pray to God because I feel secure where I can
tell all my concerns without judging me, which would help me meditate and reflect on
everything that I am going through.

In life, we need to trust God in every aspect, the King of all Kings, the creator
of heaven and earth; as a human being, we must put God as the center of our lives
in times of happiness and sadness. Hence, when I was going through this
experience, I reminded myself about the motto of the Ateneo de Davao University,
the Fortes in fide, or the Strong in Faith. 

In life, we did not end up experiencing only happiness. Instead, we are

dealing with our ups and downs, especially this kind of COVID 19 Pandemic,
everyone is affected, and each individual must take good care of themselves.
Staying at home is being an example of a Cura Personalis or the care for the entire
person. At this trying times, the online classes are implemented to contain the virus;
today's struggle will be all worth, and we will shout out loud that we won and fight
against the virus together. It might be a struggle for now, but I understand the
purpose; I had to deal with the changes and look at the positive side of the situation
that this shift of education platform is for everyone's betterment.

With the lord's guidance and will, I am lucky enough to reflect on all of this, in
the book of 2 Corinthians 5:7 to live or make a habit—by faith and not by sight. In
other words, I so strongly believe the Gospel, including its restoration and everlasting
fulfillment, that the challenges that I face are not a matter of fundamental concern.
What I "see" is pain, misery, resistance, and struggle. I feel the burden of these
things profoundly, but I did not count the new stuff waiting for them with Christ as
more real than the sufferings of the moment.

In times that I am weak and hopeless, the verse Psalm 46:1 reminded me that
I am not alone in this battle, in verse it states that "God is our refuge and strength" it
is a strong biblical passage that reminds me that God is our refuge and strength
even in the face of trouble. Whatever circumstances that I might encounter, I can
surpass everything because My Lord is my strength and my greatest foundation.
Sometimes, I talked about the fact that the bible doesn't talk about the absence of
calamity. Still, God promises his presence in trying times mostly during this
pandemic; it was not the first, and sadly it will not be the last time we will see
inhuman acts, but we always can depend on God's presence when tragedy strikes.
God does not fail me. He has promised to be with me in the middle of challenges.
Moreover, we know the bible recorded that God created the heavens and
earth and all things with His word in the beginning. He prepared the environments
that we depend upon for survival. Often, we all have such experience: When we are
weak, God's words can strengthen our faith and give us the way to practice. One day
while I was going through something, I passed by a street, and I saw these words,
For, with God, nothing shall be impossible. - Luke 1:37. We must trust God always;
God gave us these problems because he knows that we can surpass this, that we
can learn from it and grow. Upon dealing with this situation, nothing shall be
impossible because God is always with us.

Overall, the importance of the fundamental social values of truth, freedom,

justice, and love is timely relevant to the things around us. These principles will guide
us in the building of a society's worth. We need to always find God in whatever
circumstances might happen in our life because God is always with us; we need to
reconnect with him to strengthen us and to become the better version of ourselves.

Things might change, but these changes will make us stronger we must
always remember that tough times don't last, but tough people do.