Have any of you ever been unable to sleep at night because you cannot stop wondering what in the world is happening?  I know for a fact I have been through this more than once.  Maybe I even cried tears.  Maybe this is happening to me right now as I write this paper.

As a senior in high school, I already have enough to worry about.  Just the other day, my mom and I were running all around town, making phonecalls, trying to figure out what in the world is going on with the SATs and registration because, even with these tests not being required this year, as many of us may feel, I can’t help but worry if my GPA, resume, and personal statement alone will be enough to get accepted into the universities that I find appealing.  The college application process has required SATs and ACTs for so long, uneasiness in both students and professors/teachers would be basically inevitable.  

Covid-19 came along and hit all of us like a train.  Specifically, the effects of Covid-19 on society.  Even more specifically, the installment of quarantine and its restrictions on everything we, the students, grown accustomed to.  Maybe you don’t feel it, or maybe you can’t understand it yet.  Maybe you’ve felt it since the day quarantine came into place.  What you should know is that, in some way, shape, or form, we have been affected. None of this is normal. We are all hurting, in our own ways.  

Maybe this sounds overdramatic. What I know for certain is that my anxiety and stress have increased exponentially since quarantine happened, and I am not the only one. The things we’ve grown accustomed to having (spirit rallies, senior sunrises, music concerts, even something as simple as lunch with friends, etc.) are now gone. We no longer possess the support we are used to. 

Thankfully, good things did also come from being quarantined as well (besides the obvious health conservation), but it has become far too easy to feel like the negatives overpower the positives, because they often do.

I can’t speak for you all, but allow me to share a piece of my current life with you.

I’m sure we all wish we knew where we were going, how we should go about getting there, or at least why we are here and what we should do.  Presently, the way to achieve any knowledge or insight on these subjects is taking control of your education.  Well, I can tell you that I have been relentlessly preparing for this year, as a student in grade 12, from my birth, to contract senioritis.  At least, that’s how it feels.  Especially now. 

Before school had even begun, I found myself walking around my house, more bored than I have ever been, with not even the motivation to do things I usually enjoy, and, now, as depressing as it sounds, finding the motivation to try my best in all of the work I do is only getting more difficult as time slowly passes.  I’m sure most of you realize how easy it’d be to ditch (I myself will not deny nor clarify this tempting prospect).  Not to mention, I now have all the time in the world, but I still find myself going to bed pretty late at night in the morning, which does not help in the least.  

Many say that we pay the consequences for our actions, but this is, obviously, not our fault, and I am with you all when I say this is anything but fair.  All I can say is that we must endure in these difficult times and do what we can.  Nothing more is expected of anybody, so don’t knock yourself out.  We are all adjusting; what’s important is that we make an effort because it is in great struggles like these that we show are forced to reveal our strength in order to persevere and become stronger as an individual and as a community.  

Plus, maybe, when we have or encounter children who complain about school later in life, we can just say, “You don’t know how lucky you are. You didn’t experience 2020 like I did.”