Garner Experiences Hectic First Year in Ohio

"The biggest change has definitely been the school and the people," reflects Andrew Garner, a sophomore in high school who came from sunny Houston, Texas to chilly Columbus, Ohio. A change that would normally be hard on most, has been pretty smooth for him. Although he is now in the midwest, he described his new home as having “southern hospitality” even more so than his old state of Texas. He has moved a lot before, his experiences in all of the places he's lived made him the person he is today. He talked to me about his new school, in his new setting, Columbus, Ohio.

Garner moved to Ohio from Houston this past year and started his sophomore year at a new school, Worthington Christian in the fall. Although it was a big change, he adapted quickly. He described his new school as having “a good education to get ready for college”, but also being a “fun environment”. The fall homecoming event and house competitions were a few of his favorite WC events to start the year. He was able to compete with Pax in the October basketball competition and talked about how much he enjoyed competing for with his house. Although these were just small experiences, they made the beginning of the school year a lot more enjoyable and memorable for Garner and he hopes to be able to do the same things in his upcoming junior year at WC.

When asked about some of his favorite things Garner mentioned basketball and running. He played for WC during the school year and played AAU this past summer. When asked about a favorite player, he mentioned Russell Westbrook. Westbrook ironically was traded to his hometown favorite Houston Rockets past summer. He talked about watching Westbrooks MVP season with the Oklahoma City Thunder in which he averaged a triple-double. Sadly, the coronavirus pandemic has left him and many others with no basketball, as leagues like the NBA have shut down and local parks cut the rims off of their hoops. Running though has been a way for Garner to stay busy, and active during this very boring time. Although his sophomore track season that he was preparing for was canceled, he still gets out and uses running as a way to exercise during the endless, boring days in quarantine. Although he was looking forward to running for WC with teammates, friends, and seniors in their final year, running has given him a way to stay in shape and busy.

Like millions across America, Garner's school year was cut short by the coronavirus. With a whole quarter of the year left still to go, and no way to teach students in person, schools resorted to online learning. Garner gets his online school work done and having the rest of the day free afterward. In the time he isn't working on school, he relaxes, watches TV, or exercises. He has also used this time to get closer to his family, especially his sister Sydney. Although the pandemic has been everything but ideal, the time we spend social distancing can be valuable time that we spend with our families to become closer with them, and Andrew is an example of that

Overall, Andrew has had a very interesting first year here in Ohio, and quarantine has made it even more of a wild ride. Although moving can be scary, he has done it quite a few times and the transition to Ohio has been very smooth. Although this year has been weird and full of ups and downs, he has made the most of it and made a good experience in his new school and home state. Garner looks ahead to when life becomes normal again and he can go back out and enjoy life how it was before the pandemic.