nj.com - Group asked N.J. kids for coronavirus silver linings. This is what they said.

5/30/2020

Along with learning remotely, social distancing from friends and family members, possibly dealing with loved ones falling ill, and missing out on typical events, the coronavirus pandemic has done some other things for New Jersey’s children and teenagers. It’s taught them some positive lessons about life, their families, and themselves.

That was the takeaway for the Partnership For A Drug-Free New Jersey’s Share Your Silver Linings Campaign, a collection of anecdotes from children and teens around the state that the non-profit group posted online as inspiration for young Garden State residents and maybe some older ones, too.

“My dad works as a truck driver,” wrote one contributor to the campaign, 8-year-old Aldar, who lives in Secaucus. “He always works for two weeks. Now I’m with my dad. We do exercises in the morning. We ride our bikes. My dad makes me go running, which is hard for me, to be honest. My dad loves to sing and sometimes we do it together. Also, me and my mom painted the stairs. Now I like to paint.”

Another Secaucus student, a middle schooler named Naiya, wrote: “Thanks to social distancing, I learned my love for nature and biking. I love the quiet sound of birds chirping and the wind against my face as I bike around my neighborhood."

The Millburn-based group, an affiliate of the nationwide Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, collected about 50 responses during a 3-week period in April and May, after asking school districts around the state to notify students and their parents of the initiative. The responses are displayed as text in a video produced by the New Jersey group featuring an upbeat bluegrass backing track.

Open lines of communication among family members is a key to preventing drug abuse, said Angelo Valente, the New Jersey partnership’s executive director. So accounts like Aldar’s — notwithstanding any economic impact the virus may have had on his family — about parents and children engaging during the crisis were heartwarming, Valente said.

“In some cases I think that they were inspirational,” he said. “I think they were an opportunity to look at and reflect on perhaps some personal aspect, what came of having so much time at home with their families. We wanted to give young people the opportunity to sit back and look at what resulted from their situations.”

Julia Nicole Boesch

Julia Nicole Boesch, an eighth-grader in Ridgewood, said life under the coronavirus had made her more mature, more self-reliant, and even more physically fit. She was among students who submitted responses to the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey's Silver Linings Campaign. Photo by Carol Bialkowski

 

Julia Nicole Boesch, a 13-year-old eighth-grader at George Washington Middle School in Ridgewood, wrote that there were, “ups and downs when it comes to quarantine and the mess going on around me.”

“But because of the excess amount of time I have to myself, focusing on my mental health has been such a silver lining,” Julia wrote. “I have been able to work out and feel confident in my own skin as well as eating healthy and feeling refreshed. I feel as if I am in a better state of mind and am extremely grateful for this time.”

Julia’s mother, Carol Bialkowski, said in a phone interview that she was struck by her daughter’s entry.

“I thought it was a very mature and thoughtful response for a 13-year-old,” Bialkowski said. “I know that’s who she is, but I don’t think she’s someone who shares something like that that openly...I’m very proud of her,” Bialkowski added. “She’s been using her quarantine time very productively.”

Taking the phone from her mom, Julia said the responsibilities thrust upon her by virus-related changes including remote learning — with the need to set her own work schedule and stick to it — had made her more mature, more self-reliant.

“It is a bit intimidating, or it was in the beginning, and I do think it requires a bit of stepping up,” Julia said, adding that the extra down time she’s had during the pandemic has made her more reflective.

Before the outbreak, with classes and extracurricular activities, seeing friends, and other demands on her time and attention, she said, “I never had that much time to think about myself.”