During the pandemic, many students tried out new hobbies. 

The reasons for starting these hobbies differed from student to student, but for all of them, it provided a distraction and maybe even some hope. 

Dimond Sophomore Savanna Kline took up boxing during the pandemic. 

Kline said, “I was very inspired when I saw a movie, and I told my Dad that I wanted to do boxing. He signed me up with a personalized trainer, and it was really fun.” 

Trying something new gave students an opportunity to work through their emotions in a healthy way. 

Kline said, “It helped me with boosting my confidence. It helped me with losing weight and becoming more fit.” 

The pandemic isolated many students and took away a lot of things that may have brought some peace into their daily lives. Starting a new hobby helped students take their own initiative to bring that back into their lives. 

Kline said, “It gave me hope to not give up. When the pandemic happened, I was harassed a lot, and I kind of gave up on myself. 

“Boxing was kind of my gateway to that hope, joy and happiness that I needed in that time.”

When students try something new, they often bring new knowledge away with them that can help shape different aspects of their lives. 

Kline said, “Be careful of who your friends are, and don’t let people get the best of you. Just do not give up.”

Dimond Sophomore Grant Weber took up track and field during the pandemic. 

Although Weber has enjoyed running for most of his life, taking it on as a sport proved to be much different than what he had done before. 

Weber said, “Track is a lot different than any other running activity I have done before high school because it really makes you keep pushing through obstacles. 

“Even if you feel like you are dying, you still have to run two more laps after you have just run like a mile and a half.”

Taking on a sport can teach students discipline, which they can then carry on into other aspects of their lives. 

Weber said, “It taught me to just push through things even though it is hard. It is going to be done in the end, so you might as well do it so it will be done.”

For many students, participating in sports was the only way to get out of their houses and do something. 

Weber said, “I have really been looking for something to start getting me on my feet, and track was really it. Now I actually really like going on runs, so it is not something that I have to make myself do. 

“It’s something I actually enjoy now.”

Weber will likely continue his journey with track and field even when the pandemic comes to a close and things return to normal. 

He said, “It’s a really good hobby that I have gained, and I think I am going to keep it going forever, hopefully.”