Freshman Summer Plans During COVID

By Allie Leen

  Congratulations! You've made it through almost an entire year of virtual/in-person learning and are just a few weeks away from summer break! New York has eased its mask and social distancing mandates, and by the time this school year ends most NHS students will be fully vaccinated. The big question is will our summer plans revert to what they originally were, or will they continue to be altered by the impact associated with COVID? To gain some insight, I've received feedback from two freshmen, Heywete Casimiro and Roman Nicolich.

   According to Casimiro, “Pre-COVID, I usually traveled outside the U.S. to visit my family. Unfortunately, due to COVID, traveling outside of the country is something my family hasn't done in almost two years.” For safety reasons she will not be not be traveling internationally and will limit her travels to the States. Since she will be spending less time on travel this year, she is thrilled to be attending a tennis camp instead. Even during these difficult and uncertain times, Casimiro believes the summer will be “relatively normal” because she will still be able to do what matters most to her, spend time with her family and friends. In order for other high schoolers to enjoy summer break during COVID, Casimiro urges everyone to “appreciate life for what it is right now. It’s definitely difficult to do so, especially being embedded into the current circumstances, but finding the positive in as much as possible would only help.”

   When interviewing Nicolich, he said that he usually spent the majority of his summer at baseball camp or at practices and tournaments for his travel team. He and his family also enjoyed taking a trip to Cape Cod for a week or two. Toward the end of the summer he attended baseball tournaments in many different areas including Cooperstown and Hershey Park.

  Due to COVID, Nicolich’s summer plans have drastically altered. He said, “I will not be going to Cape Cod due to COVID restrictions, and I will not go to as many baseball games, practices or tournaments as I would usually go to. I might not be able to go to a summer camp because many might not be open due to COVID restrictions.” Nicolich doesn’t think this summer will be very “normal” because “many people won’t be able to travel and will have to deal with a transition period before we get back to how we were. Some people have already gotten their COVID vaccine, but I think people will still want to be extra safe.” Nicolich does, however, believe that “toward the end of the summer many people will start to get out more and we may start to see more of a normal summer.” Nicolich added, “we have been stuck at home for so long, so if you are able to get out of your house then you should go. Even if you may not exactly like to do something, go do it because almost anything will be better than staying inside for another day.” 

  Overall, it seems that freshman summer plans during COVID are shaping up. Even though things may still not be perfectly back to normal, especially with regard to travel, students are managing to get out and spend some much-needed quality time together with family and friends.