We were sitting in a dark calculus classroom last spring watching the news on the projector; expecting (and hoping!) that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz would cancel school. Other curious students peeked through the window to watch the news report, only to groan in disappointment: school would continue for the foreseeable future. In our little high school bubble, we didn’t realize the devastation that COVID-19 would soon bring to the world. We only cared about our upcoming english quizzes and biology homework. Who wouldn’t enjoy an unexpected school break? The coronavirus eventually shut down my high school and I was happy to learn that final exams were cancelled and AP tests were short and online. But those feelings of delight at the end of my junior year dimmed as, week after week, the restrictions remained and online classes lost their initial glossy appeal. Now, as a high school senior in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, I have witnessed firsthand how the coronavirus has ripped the joy out of our daily lives.
COVID-19 disrupted my daily life and caused me to reevaluate my sources of peace and satisfaction. One would think that so much time and relaxation would be beneficial for a busy high school student, but the results were less than savory. Things became quite glum when travel restrictions cancelled my service trip to India, something I had looked forward to for years and on which I hoped to write a college essay. On top of this, the Minnesota State High School League cancelled my junior captain tennis season and off-season basketball practices. As a devoted student-athlete, this was a tough blow. My only physical activities became jogging and giving haircuts to my dad and dog.
My girlfriend and I used to be able to hold hands, watch movies, and eat popcorn out of the same bag. Maintaining this relationship proved especially difficult during the months of quarantine because we lost quality personal time, forcing us to communicate over FaceTime and text. I am thankful that we did our best to encourage one another (even resorting to some old-fashioned, pen-and-paper love letters!), but the quarantine was one of the hardest periods in our relationship. Even now, caution over the virus colors our time together.
My platonic friendships also deteriorated during the quarantined summer. My friends and I fell into an unfamiliar place without community or connection. This experience really showed me how interconnected and dependent we are designed to be. When our relationships are compromised, the state of our mental and emotional health is injured. Several of my close friends admitted to experiencing depression and having suicidal thoughts while facing a sense of hopelessness at home. I did not have painful experiences such as these, but I daily felt the pain of cooped-up family tension, restrictions, and redundancy. While the COVID-19 shut-down provided much family bonding time, it was challenging to be so close for so long. My two college-age brothers invaded my well-sorted life, stealing all the best food from our pantry and adding drama to every movie night decision. Over the months, we began to tire of bonfires and the family board game selection. Heated debates on the importance of masking and social distancing often occurred at the dinner table and sometimes continued into the evening. My parents always prevailed and I felt that our friends viewed us as uptight for our strict family rules. If others in public don’t wear masks and physically distance well, why should we? Because we are young, healthy, and unlikely to be affected by COVID-19, why should we have to be so cautious? I think many people and families are wrestling with these questions as well.
Despite these inconveniences, I can see some good that has come out of this pandemic. My quarantine exercise discipline paid off in a record-setting cross country season and my barber skills may have developed into a backup career option. Now more than ever, I also see that my choices affect many others. If I were to have contact with an infected individual, I risk giving coronavirus to anyone I see in the coming days, even my elderly grandparents. The greatest irony is that, in a world where people show affection by being together, the coronavirus has made touch an exercise in sharing germs, forcing us to express affection and care in other ways. The true selflessness of wearing a mask was nonsense to me before COVID. I speak for my generation in saying that I felt inconvenienced in order to protect others who are more vulnerable, but the pandemic has caused many of us to pause and think about the consequences of our actions, the morality of our behavior and motives, and the fragility of our plans. In reality, this lesson is one my generation would do well to learn. Our decisions still have a weighty impact on the lives of the elderly and sick around us. We are all remarkably interconnected and must be wise to follow safety regulations as we trust others to do so as well.
The world will remember this year for COVID, but this is also my senior year of high school. When many people in the USA were seniors, they took for granted what my class of 2021 is losing. All we “should” have to worry about is the ACT exam, soccer games, and the senior dance. Yet currently, we are forced to worry about checking our temperatures each morning, preventing a breach of our 6 foot personal space barrier, and wearing masks that don't squish our noses. It seems that the biggest advantages for students like me are these new perspectives on life. There’s also the added bonus that face masks hide our acne. It is understandable that we mourn lost opportunities, but we need to assure ourselves that we can still rise and face each new day with an attitude of perseverance and hope. We should continually revisit our best sources of peace and satisfaction such as family, friends, food, and faith instead of dwelling on what we are missing. Even if the end of this hardship is not yet in sight, we can have authentic joy despite our circumstances.
At first, the coronavirus did not seem like a pressing issue because it was on the other side of the globe. But now it colors many aspects of everyone’s lives. It seems to slide into every conversation, every class, every encounter at the store, and every time with friends. Yet through these troubles, there is the hope of things to come. I look forward to pulling a senior prank, throwing my graduation cap into the air, and leaving home for college. As we all anticipate life without coronavirus, we have a great opportunity before us to help our fellow man. Instead of brushing off the tiresome safety restrictions, we should smile behind our masks as we keep calm and carry on. I hope to share popcorn again soon.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.