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Destanie Lewin
Destanie Lewin
When I first found out that I would start my freshman year of high school online I was happy. I would get to do all of my work in the comfort of my own home, just as I imagined when I begged my parents to allow me to do this before. But my utopia slowly turned into prison. I was stuck in one room of the house, only coming out to grab food and go back or to use the restroom. It was just my computer and I. You would think that since there was nothing else better to do, I would just focus on my work. Instead I would use anything and everything to find a way more interesting to occupy my time. I never liked doing work in school, so I didn’t understand why I would rather bring school to my home.
When my mother told me that I could start hybrid learning, I was ambivalent; there were so many factors that went into this. If I went out I could get COVID, but I could finally see some of my friends if they went on the same days as me (they didn't). If I start doing hybrid learning, my grades may start to look better. On the other hand I’d have to get up early again. In the end, I chose to go to school again. It took some getting used to. I had to wear a stuffy mask for so many hours and make new friends. During the winter, the small classes started to get even smaller. The new friends I managed to make stopped coming, and I was by myself again. That’s when I started to hate hybrid learning.
Hybrid learning came to an end, and I started going to in-person school full time. I thought that it was very stupid to try and rush to make thing go back to normal. My parents and I thought that everything would be shut down within two weeks. To my surprise it wasn’t. Even though I thought it was stupid, I was excited to see how things would change. At first I didn’t like the fact that there were so many people in the halls, classes were so much louder, and I didn’t get to have my at-home days anymore. But as time passed I got used to it. My grades even started to look better. I never noticed how much I missed the way life was before COVID-19.
My freshman year of high school was unlike any other. I have gone through many highs and lows, and I have grown so much from my experiences. The change was so stressful, and I’m glad that this year is almost over. I know that the pandemic isn’t over yet, but I hope that it won't have such a negative effect on mine and many others' lives going forward. Even though living and learning during a pandemic is dreadful, I am grateful that I managed to stay covid free. I'm also grateful that I didn't have to experience this my senior year.
Gissela Morales
Gissela Morales
As the first day of high school approached, it was my very first time attending high school. Online. Never in a million years would I have thought I would be doing school online. Meeting all my new teachers across the computer felt peculiar to me. As an 8th grader in middle school, I never thought halfway through the year I would be entering quarantine for a year due to a worldwide pandemic. The feeling of staying inside for months and not being able to go out made me feel stressed out. Everything felt like it happened in a matter of seconds. It felt like the rest of 8th-grade wasn’t even real. I blinked and I was attending high school... online.
Some people would say quarantine went well for them, but others would say not. I think quarantine had both positive and negative effects on me. Quarantine was a great way to collect my thoughts about myself and my desires for the future, though being stuck in a room with four walls with windows and a roof wasn't such a good idea. During quarantine you would expect everything to be wonderful, but instead I did nothing. I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that I wouldn't be seeing friends in person for a while. I needed to get used to staying in for my own safety and the safety of others.
Going back in person doing hybrid learning took a while to get used to. Knowing I would only be seeing some of my friends was pretty boring; it didn't feel the same. It didn't take long before the majority of the students came back. Getting back into the routine of going back to school everyday took a while to get used to as well. Even though it took a month to get into the routine, I got motivated again. I do still have my high and lows every once in a while.
Freshman year of high school was pretty difficult for me and many others. You would think being stuck inside doing online classes would be such an amazing thing. It was probably the worst thing I've ever experienced. The internet was slow. My computer wasn’t working. It just made online school more difficult. I slowly tried giving up on school and ended up consuming me as well. I was unmotivated to do anything. Honestly, I just wanted to stay in bed and wake up as if this pandemic never happened.
But I am glad to be back at school full time, and I hope things will be better next year.
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