My last day of high school was Friday the 13th, and I didn’t even go. I can’t even lie and tell you that I had every intention to attend because that would be a lie. My friends and I took the day to visit colleges. I wish we hadn’t done that.
I got an email later that same day that the school was closing for about a week. Most people were sure we’d simply have an extended spring break and be back soon. Well that was a lie. Every 2 weeks since that day we would receive another email. Each email said the same thing. “Xaverian High School will remain closed indefinitely, we will be giving updates in another 2 weeks”. Eventually the school year ran out of weeks and the last email was sent.
If I had known what I know now I would’ve gone to school that day. I would’ve eaten my favorite lunch in my favorite seat by the window with my closest friends. I would’ve stopped to watch the students in the halls. I would’ve raised my hand more in pre-calc. I would have paid more attention in philosophy. I would’ve done so much more.
As the weeks of quarantine started, I was completely stunned. Online school was difficult and having to stay at home was really affecting me. Doing virtual learning was hard and not being able to be in class was upsetting. Not being able to see my friends and family was way worse. Being deprived of doing the things I normally do everyday was ruining me. It’s true what they say. You don’t know what you have until it’s gone. All of these factors were affecting me emotionally and physically. When word got out that we would be in quarantine for months, I was appalled. I couldn’t take being home anymore. Being incapable of social interaction with people other than my immediate family made me angry. Waking up every morning and doing the same thing everyday was dreadful. I felt like I was reliving the same day over and over again. It was difficult to adapt to this new lifestyle but I knew I had no choice over the matter.
For the next few months it felt like the only channel that existed on TV was the news. COVID this and COVID that. As the cases and death toll rose so did any feelings of hope that this would end soon. Everyday more people were dying. Medical professionals were doing all they could but sometimes it just wasn’t enough. I remember the day I heard that hospitals were running out of supplies, and funeral parlors were running out of space. I remember sitting in the front seat of my car as my mom drove and seeing mortuary coolers on more than one street. There was no room for these bodies. There were no funerals allowed. There would be no real goodbyes with full crowds of people embracing and comforting each other. When we needed love the most we were left with only distance and isolation.
Being informed about how people were losing their jobs and couldn’t pay for their necessities was terrifying. The fact that people couldn’t go anywhere and if they did, they had to wear face masks and social distance was life changing. The world was in a state of turmoil and I couldn’t believe that everything was changing and how good we once had it. It’s hard to believe that we were all once living a normal life just a few months ago. It doesn’t feel real. This was the new normal and I hated it.
As cases slowly stopped progressing at high rates, the city started to open up again in stages. Things were nowhere near to going back to what they used to be. However, it was a change towards something positive out of this whole situation. Now that some things were open again, for people to have access to any stores and things like that, you had to wear face masks and social distance. Although this is not exactly what he had hoped for, there was a chance that things were looking a little bit better. Now I was able to go out and see my friends and I couldn’t be happier. I had gone almost three months without seeing them and honestly I don’t know how I did it. Afterall it was summer time, and I was ready to do what normal teenagers do in normal times. Even though I was seeing my friends and family again, the summer of 2020 was not what I had hoped. There were so many restrictions and we couldn’t go anywhere without wearing face masks and social distancing. The summer of 2020 was supposed to be amazing, especially since it was the last summer together before college. Although we were trying to make the best of it, things just weren’t the same but at least we could be together again.
Now that summer was coming to an end and the next chapter of my life was starting college, I was thrilled. However, I knew that things weren’t going to be the same in college due to the pandemic. As some of my friends were receiving notice from their colleges that they were opening for the fall and were going to have in person classes, I received the notice that all of my classes were going to be online. Despite the fact that my school was open for students to move in, the restrictions were simply too strict and it did not make sense to move in financially if I had no in person classes. So, for the fall semester, I decided to stay home. This made me extremely upset because I had dreamed of going away to college and living my best life there, I couldn’t wait. Hearing that all my friends were moving in and could have in person classes made me upset because I couldn’t have that same opportunity. It wasn’t fair. Starting college for the first time online was extremely stressful and completely not what I had expected. Classes were difficult and I was not surprised, but it was even more difficult because it was virtual learning. All I wanted was to be on campus and to have that college experience, but unfortunately these circumstances didn’t allow me to. COVID took that away from me. I wanted the opportunity to meet new people, to get to know my teachers and classmates, to live away from home and to have my own experience but I was nowhere near this. Being at home was so difficult because I was so used to waking up early in the morning and attending school, now I was home all the time. My life definitely got more boring and less social for the most part and that killed me. Although I had some friends that stayed at home, my main friend group including my twin sister moved away so it was really hard for me to adjust to that. After hearing that some students moved into Oneonta, I had heard that after two weeks into their move in, they were sent home because there were about 700 cases of COVID-19 in the school. I could not believe that this had happened. However, it made me feel better about my decision to stay home for the fall semester and it made me realize that it was probably one of the best decisions I had ever made. Although, this was not the semester I had wanted, I knew I had to make the best of things at home and accept it because there was nothing I could do about it.