This year, we eighth graders have the luxury of having Encounters at our school and as a class, instead of having to leave on a bus during the first period and traveling to a different school. I remember having teachers ask me where I was going and telling me to make sure I would complete any work I had to do. When we arrived at Cobb, sometimes we would have to wait outside and ask for someone to open the door. Since I was in the sixth grade, my uniform shirt and hoodie had to be gold. When walking the hallway to get to Encounters, students would look at me and ask me why I was wearing yellow. The first couple of times I told them I went to a different school and was only here for Encounters, but after they kept asking, I stopped giving them an explanation. Our hoodie had the school’s name on it, so I didn’t understand why they kept asking. By the time we arrived at the classroom, the other Cobb students were eating breakfast and once they were finished eating, our day would start. The teacher would start by explaining the instructions, and then she would let us go and do the work. I sat at a table full of my friends and had fun, but there wasn’t a lot of space so I could do my work. We worked with no break, so it eventually became boring.

In seventh grade, the Encounters class was at school and was my second period. Instead of having to wait outside for the bus, we just had to wait for Mr. Skipper to open the door. I really looked forward to it because we were free to work at our own pace and I could chat with my friends if we were allowed to. The Encounters classroom is located in the old cafeteria, so there is a lot of space to sit and work. The first thing we did was get our Chromebooks out of the cart and immediately sat down in our seats. I didn’t need to be told what to do and got to work. The class lasted an hour and a half so we had enough time to get multiple assignments done. We had access to multiple things such as laptops, blankets, books, and restrooms. We were also welcome to sit on the couch and read a book with permission. Overall, the class was really fun because we had space and freedom.

I still remember that fateful day in March, it was the last time I saw my teachers in person. I was in Mexico when I got the news that I likely wouldn’t be returning to school until the eighth grade. On the first day of online classes, I woke up early, showered, and logged onto the meet. All we did was go over everything that was going on, so it was nothing important. I didn’t even have a break between each class, so I started to get a headache and that is when I knew that the rest of the semester was going to be tough. The days went by slowly, I was just getting more stressed as the classes went on. My teachers started to assign more work than usual and I hated it, but I pulled through. I knew the year would soon be over and I didn’t have to take any major exams, so there was no point in getting stressed. At the end of the semester and my seventh grade year, I felt proud of myself. I had some bumps in the road, but I knew I was a strong person because I was able to learn and grow despite not being able to go to school.