“My favorite part of 2020 was, in a way, the beginning of quarantine. It was a bit bittersweet to leave everyone. I think my last period of the 2019-2020 school year was sixth period, Living Earth and my table knew deep down that we probably weren’t going to see each other again for a while. Had we known that we weren’t going to see each other for the 2021 school year, maybe we would have made more of it. 

When the pandemic hit, I had to face the crushing realization that nothing was going to be normal again, and the realization that we would be wearing masks everywhere. It’s okay, It’s just different. I was also impacted by the realization that there was a pandemic happening, and that we didn’t take it seriously. Right now, I’m missing out on the high school experience. As school closed, I realized that I was never going to get the full experience. But realizing what memories I would be missing out on is crushing. 

With online school, I enjoy not having to walk from class to class. I like being able to just print out an assignment and make sure that I’m never going to lose anything because I’m turning things in online. The overall structure is better for me personally. I like just having to open up a zoom link and go to class. 

However, with online school, I’ve experienced both quarantine burnout and productivity. I was productive in the way that I was always able to get my work done in time. Even though at times, it felt like Google Classroom was looming over me and I struggled to remember deadlines, I still did my work. I don’t think I’ve turned in a single late assignment. But quarantine has also burned me out; I don’t enjoy the things that I once did and I struggle to do things that I know I’m talented in. Recently, I’ve been burned out musically and creatively. 

I hated the bombardment of horrible news happening all the time. It made me emotionally numb to what was happening and how powerless I felt to do anything about it. I struggled to try to feel something about whatever was going on in the world, as well as other things. This year, loneliness was the worst, personally. And I think that goes for everyone.

Fortunately, my little brother made 2020 a better year for me. He was somebody that I always took for granted and thought was annoying and irritating, like any little brother. But he was one of my few sources of joy this year. I’ve been playing so many video games with him, and I’ve been spending so much time with him that my humor has deteriorated into second-grader potty humor.

I’m looking forward to seeing my friends again to see all the people that I didn’t really appreciate, even classmates that I had one interaction with. I feel immensely grateful to them for making my life less lonely. My main takeaway from 2020 is to take care of ourselves and our loved ones, and to be grateful for the things we once took for granted. There’s so much that we can’t do, and to not be able to experience those reminds us that we need to care about the little things in life.”