This is part of a package that shares the opinions of the student body on how the last two years have affected them. This article talks about members of the student body who found positives in what was a difficult time for many. To read about the students who found positives in the pandemic click here and to review statistics from the student body about COVID-19 schooling, click here.
In the past year, COVID has affected many students and their families. Teenagers have a rough time during high school, especially in the midst of a pandemic that has impacted millions of people. Even school and normal human interactions changed.
“Our lives were halted in 2020. You didn’t have to talk to anyone if you didn’t want to, you weren’t forced into uncomfortable situations,” junior Nevaeh Downs said. “We grow during our uncomfortability; and I believe [that didn’t happen] during the pandemic, because we didn’t have that opportunity. We forgot how to tolerate everyday things.”
When school resumed in-person, there were still multiple restrictions in play, which made a drastic impact on the average students’ life.
“I feel bad for the class of 2020 and 2021. They were neglected of their high school experience. All of the things that make high school worth it, were stripped away,” Downs said. “No powderpuff, football games, student section, [dances or] spirit week. Senior [athletes] had an absolutely disappointing senior season.”
The cancellation of events made a huge impression on students, but for those attending in person, it wasn’t the biggest thing they noticed.
“Not being around people messed with me. I missed social events like football games and dances, but I also missed the normal things, like whispering with friends in class,” junior Tori Witke said.
Starting from the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, students only attended school for two days a week, then completing online assignments by themselves at home. That, and as a result of social distancing, masking, and the overall feeling of isolation, many students found it difficult to find the social aspect of school.
“It made it harder to make friends and branch out, which I have trouble with [already],” sophomore Lilly Childers said. “It was hard to not go to school every day like I’m used to.”
Unsurprisingly, as a result of the distanced learning, students felt “discouraged” by not having easy access to a teacher during confusing lessons.
“I didn’t understand the material at all,” Childers said. “It all just happened suddenly and I couldn’t get help easily or ask questions.”
Not feeling comfortable enough to ask questions over email, and the overall difficulty of getting in contact with people affected a lot of students, with most admitting that they “struggled” with virtual learning.
“I didn’t have a teacher in front of me showing me how to do the work.” Freshman Ashlyn Gutierrez said. “It was just over email, which still didn’t make any sense.”
Overall, the situation was problematic. However, some students took the initiative to try to see the silver lining.
“Although most of my [responses] were negative, I don’t see the pandemic as inherently good or bad,” Downs said. “We all learned things about ourselves and became stronger as a society.”
