In this time of worldwide strife, most people have forgotten about the hobbies or passions they have deemed less important than a global pandemic, but those things very well might be just as- or more important than our current crisis. While some have used their time in quarantine to learn new skills, there are still some who feel that this pandemic has left them without the things they love. With the steady adaptation to Covid-19, many have found a way to do these things again. With broadcasts of football, baseball, and hockey started up again, sports is one passion that students and the community are navigating together.

There are thousands of online students around the country struggling to adjust to a new way of doing their favorite things. Two of these people are Natalie and Emily Ruddebeck, sophomore twins who have been in cross country since Middle School. They are skilled athletes who were on the varsity team even in their freshman year, so it was no question that they would do everything in their power to continue participating. 

Despite their passion for running, they admit that there are difficulties that come with being a virtual student and doing an after school sport. Natalie, despite being strong-minded and a hardworking student, still finds it hard to balance the self-disciplined lifestyle that comes with being a virtual student and her sports commitment. 

“It’s harder because the distractions of being at home lead to procrastination and then sports take up a few hours… so if you want good grades, you have to stay up [until] midnight or later every night,” Natalie said. 

Along with the challenges of school work, Natalie and Emily live with their grandparents part time, so when news came that they would be able to do cross country in the 2020-21 school year, they were hesitant. 

“My grandparents said ‘screw it’ and that I could do it,” Natalie said. 

And for Natalie, so far so good, but Emily has a different perspective on her new life in this pandemic; one that was immensely surprising because like her sister, she is also strong minded. Emily has found that getting to actually do cross country was more of a challenge than she expected. 

“It was kind of hard to convince my family to let me join this year, [they] were split in half about it and I almost didn’t join because of that,” Emily said.

Both her and Natalie have faced their own difficulties with doing a sport as virtual students, but their eagerness to run helped them decide to take on the challenge.

The trials and tribulations that so many others go through just to do the things they enjoy seems impossible to even comprehend, but we persevere.