The global coronavirus pandemic has brought about a lot of negativity recently, but many students are trying their best to stay positive and help others through this tough time.

Despite being away from school, student government has been working hard to keep the Granite Bay High School student body informed and connected.

ASB president Avani Singh has been working alongside senior class president Kara Kleinbach to post positive content on social media in order to counteract the abundant amount of negative news. 

“We have been trying to fill social media feeds with positivity through weekly challenges, daily quotes, and even focusing on our seniors with the future plans Instagram in order to showcase where students are going after leaving Granite Bay,” Singh said.

Because the class of 2020 lost the ability to share their exciting future plans with their peers and teachers in-person, student government has created an Instagram page where seniors can share their post-graduation plans.

“I started the @gbhsfutureplans page so that we can celebrate where everyone is going off to college, since we aren’t able to be at school to talk about it,” Kleinbach said.

Kleinbach believes it is very important that seniors stay connected.

“Whether by sending out Reminds about the board meetings or keeping our Instagrams updated, I’ve been trying to make sure that all GBHS seniors know as much information as possible, as soon as possible,” Kleinbach said. 

Aside from all the extra work student government is putting in to restore our school culture, students are finding ways to stay positive individually as well.

“I find that finding shared passions and exploring those to a significant extent has been very effective in lifting spirits and keeping us sheltered from the barrage of terrible news and world events,” senior Rathip Rajakumar said.

Rajakumar has turned to virtual ways of reconnecting with classmates as he overcomes the loss of daily in-person interactions at school. 

“I’ve developed my own outreach program where I start a dialogue through fact time or phone calls with a lot of friends and acquaintances that I don’t often interact within the absence of school,” Rajakumar said. “This helps me fulfill some of the lost social interaction with those outside of our immediate social circles and helps me feel more in tune with the happenings of my peers.”

Kleinbach also finds herself calling friends and interacting with others virtually to keep a positive mindset through quarantine.

“I’ve been trying to stay positive during coronavirus and quarantine by keeping up on my school work and talking to friends as much as possible. I’ve been doing zoom calls and group facetimes which really help me to feel connected to others.”

Although it may be difficult, focusing on the good and spreading positivity is one of the best ways to raise spirits that may be crushed by the inevitable changes everyone is facing.

“I have found a way to focus myself on all of the beautiful things I can be creating with my extra time,” Rajakumar said.