REFLECTIONS ON THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: Buckeye senior's strange final year

YORK TWP. — Just like nearly every other high school student across Ohio, the last year has been one full of ups and downs for Buckeye's Lexie Anzevino. Add the fact she now is rapidly approaching the end of her senior year and it's guaranteed this will be a year she will never forget, not entirely for the usual reasons. Throughout the last 12 months, Anzevino has dealt with a canceled church trip to Costa Rica, a smaller volleyball senior night this year and many other stressors that come from living through a global pandemic. Despite that, she has chosen to surround herself with positivity and said a year that has pushed her in many ways has made her a better person for it. It's the best side effect of a year marred by COVID-19. "Everyone around me was very helpful and always had a positive mindset," Anzevino said. "It helped push to say, 'It's going to be a good year.' I always try to look on the bright side of stuff. This has been a fun year to get to know my family more and have more time (with them)." For Anzevino, she said one of the most impactful moments of the last year was the uncertainty surrounding this year's volleyball season, one of the many school organizations she's a part of. Ultimately the season, just like Buckeye's school year, continued, albeit with some modifications. Anzevino said she was thankful to be at Buckeye this year where students had the option for five-day, in-person learning for the entire school year outside of a two-week span prior to Christmas break. "That helped because I liked being in-person for senior year," Anzevino said. "Not even having people near me, I still had people in my school and I could talk to them and get on a different personal level with everyone." As she goes onto Ohio Christian University to continue playing volleyball next fall, Anzevino will leave Buckeye and Medina County with her fair share of lessons from the pandemic. "I am not a patient person and going through all of this I've learned that I cannot take control of everything," Anzevino said. "Giving my patience and my time up is crazy. It tested my patience and how I am with my family. I grew closer with them and everyone around me." Contact reporter Jack Kopanski at (330) 721-4063 or jkopanski@medina-gazette.com.