Staying Connected: Leland Bonkovsky

I’m not going to lie. It wasn’t easy getting used to homeschool every day—neither was social distancing and quarantine. When I heard we weren’t going back to school at all, I was really excited though! I remember literally jumping for joy because of how happy I was. Within a day or two, I started to realize what it actually meant. The first couple of weeks of quarantine, after that, were pretty hard. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact there would be no 8th-grade graduation or high school touring or end-of-the-year parties. I don’t have it as bad as some people, but I was upset because I really was looking forward to celebrating the end of the school year.

Since then my life at home has been pretty crazy. Some may say their quarantine has been boring because “It’s the same thing every single day,” but it’s not like that at my house. It’s different every day. Some days are good; some are bad. Some days it’s quiet; some days it’s loud. The one thing that stays the same is that it’s different than anything I’ve ever been through. 

One of the biggest challenges during this time has been trying to get into a routine. I will make a routine for one day and then change it the next day! Another hard thing has been being at home more often than normal. I miss getting out and seeing lots of people. I also miss being around my friends. I don’t get to see them anymore, and I may never see some of my friends from middle school again.

Not everything has been hard though. There have been so many good things happening. One good thing is that I have so much more time for myself now. I can clean my room and sleep in for a long time. I also like being with my family all the time and seeing them more. Another thing I love has been the amazing weather. I have been able to appreciate God’s work and be outside much more now. I’m very thankful for that.

I am seeing God’s work right now in a few ways. One way I see him working is helping me understand how to not take things for granted and to be thankful for every single thing that I have.  He has taught me to slow down and just stop rushing for a minute.  He’s making sure I’m thinking about him and remembering him during this time. 

So much has changed over such a short time and it gets really hard sometimes but God is helping me to remember that everything is okay, and I am still with him no matter what.