Rachel's Series: A high schooler's take on COVID
March 11, 2020 will forever be a day that will be remembered for generations. Almost two years ago, the viral disease, COVID-19, swept the globe in a span of three months and sent the world spiraling into yet another global pandemic. Without a doubt, everyone in the world had their lives turned upside down by how quickly the pandemic upended the status quo, particularly in America. It seemed like everything we considered normal stopped all at once. Everybody on the planet had their lives affected by the COVID-19 pandemic one way or another. However, there is one particular group of people who were condemned to spending their school days through computer screens: teenagers.
Today’s generation of high schoolers, along with last year’s graduating class, are not familiar with a “complete” high school experience. The class members of 2020 had their expectations for graduation completely rattled by the pandemic. As for the underclassmen, high school as they knew it would never be the same.
“There was a lot more going on then than now,” said Kimberly Perez Zitina, a current junior at Lexington Senior High School. For some students, including Perez Zitina, 2020 was a year of prosperity and optimism, with much to look forward to. “There were a lot of things I was looking forward to doing before COVID hit, like being in school and dancing in festivals.”
Personally, I was looking forward to a lot of exciting new opportunities in 2020. I was planning to travel outside of the country for the first time, and I was looking forward to starting junior year and participating in community theater.
For others, they remember the years before the pandemic being much more stable and carefree, compared to the years to come. “It was lively,” Ally Turner, upcoming graduate of Lexington Senior High, class of 2022, commented. “Health wise, I felt safe in big crowds, and when I had a cold or any cold symptoms, I didn’t question them. My social anxiety wasn’t as bad, and I felt comfortable being around people I didn’t know.”
“Pre-COVID, my life was one of biking, running and quality family time,” Arthur Johnson, a history teacher at Lexington Senior High, shared. “Dare I say, that pre-COVID, my life was carefree.”
Personally, I thought teachers wouldn’t be deeply affected by COVID at the start of the pandemic. However, as the weeks stretched into months, and eventually years, I realized that teachers would fall into the category of those who would be affected the most. Teachers must have students in class in order to teach. Without students being present in class due to the pandemic, their jobs would hang in the balance.
While medical face masks were invented in 1848, it seems that society has only been fully aware of their importance for nearly two years. Americans were not aware of how much wearing face masks would transform social interactions. “I just take for granted I will need to wear a mask whenever I’m in some sort of public gathering space. My feelings towards masks haven't really changed. I believe they serve a purpose and that we all should wear them, but I also have started to feel they have become a bit of an inconvenience,” Johnson opined on wearing face coverings.
It should go without saying that opinions and current events are easier to understand when you can closely relate to them. I find it easier to relate to Ally Turner, regarding school, because we are part of the same class. I can relate to Kimberly Perez Zitina because we both attend the same school. I am classmates with both Kimberly and Ally, and we are all familiar with the struggles students faced during COVID-19. Our experiences are similar yet different.
“I look at situations differently and I appreciate now,” Turner answered as to her life now, as compared to the start of the pandemic. “I don’t try to dig so much into the future, because this pandemic has come with a lot of the unknown.”
“Everything isn’t the way it used to be; it’s fun actually seeing people in person again. It’s also fun to see their reactions as opposed to hoping your friends understand what you mean through a text message or a phone call,” Perez Zitina replied to the same question.
Everyone was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic one way or the other. Whether you are a student, a teacher, both, or neither, one aspect is certain. Life isn’t the same as it was almost two years ago, but it slowly seems to feel familiar again, like interacting in public spaces. On the contrary, things that seemed unfamiliar in our society are starting to feel like they’ve been part of everyday life for a while, such as wearing face masks. My generation is venturing into adulthood in the midst of a pandemic, screens and isolation no longer taking the place of graduation and social interactions. We will take what we knew before the pandemic, and what we learned from the pandemic, to prepare for adulthood and to learn even more from what is to come.
