“Sometimes all you need is a change of scenery.” — Jay Kaslo

With the number of infected patients increasing by hundreds everyday and the Korean government officially declaring it a serious health crisis, the Wuhan Coronavirus, newly named the COVID-19, is a more pressing issue than ever. As a result of the immense risk of infection, Korean schools from kindergartens to universities have decided to push back their start of the semester to March 23. International schools also followed the trend and decided to close their schools for two weeks from Feb. 24. SIS followed suit, and students attended virtual school for four weeks from Feb. 24 to March 30. 

The system posed as an alternative to real school was the E-Learning program, which only requires a laptop and headphones to operate. Attendance, participation, and communication, all flowed smoothly as the school was collectively adapting to this new platform of learning. E-learning acted as a much needed chance for students to get more time to sleep, rest, or stay in bed.. Although the location might not be much of a significant change, the simple but complete turn of one’s daily schedule can act as a total shift in scenery. Indeed, more students had smiles on their faces than before, and were starting to feel free from their once stress-filled lives due to this change of their surroundings. In somewhat of a slump season at school, they might feel unfocused and unmotivated, as if nothing special is happening. Then, all they need would be a change in scenery, which was preciously gifted during the four weeks off from school. 

Even though COVID-19 is a very threatening issue, sometimes, one just needs time to sit back and relax through the madness outside. The departure from a confined room inside a school filled with restrictions to having to wake up at five to 8 A.M. and having class in bed with food at the reach of hand is nothing more and nothing less than what students had just needed. Especially during this time of international chaos, students have to find a little bit of positivity somewhere. Use this break wisely, invest the leftover time in having long talks with friends, discovering an unknown hobby, or binge watching a show one has always wanted to watch. Maybe students can work on their schoolwork that they had previously pushed off and study for their nearing AP exams, or they simply can catch up on much needed sleep. Regardless of how this sudden break is used, there is no doubt that students must use their precious extra time given wisely. 

After the first announcement that school was closing for two weeks, students were ecstatic. However, the second announcement that school was going to remain closed until the end of spring break came as a blow, as students were slowly starting to get fed up with staying inside every day. This is when the positive effects of the initial change in scenery starts wearing off: students need another change in environment, which will be returning to school. The majority of the student body that originally complained about not wanting to stay home instead of attending school are now missing school and can return to school now as an enthusiastic and motivated student body. Maybe the change in scenery back from a month stuck in one’s home back to school might just be what is needed to keep the students motivated throughout the rest of the year. A change in scenery is all that is needed for students that can now refresh and come back to school on March 9th, better than ever.