We had talked about the possibility of school closing for a few weeks, and at first everyone was excited. The third marking period at school is always the most challenging. Everyone is ready for summer, and we all want to be done with the immense workload. This “two-week” quarantine sounded pretty good to me, until we got out of school. I went to my friend’s house, and we realized we would not be able to hang out, and we would not get to do whatever we want. Friday March 13, ended for me with a huge pit in my stomach.

I never thought about how much I really do love going to school every day and seeing my friends, teammates, and teachers. I miss laughing in class, and I miss walking in the hallway. I miss seeing all of my friends and getting to each lunch with them every day. I miss all of the crazy things that happen daily at VHS. I think as teenagers we always look at the negative in situations, and tend to miss the positives. 

I can recall a day, about a month ago, when I was getting ready to go to school, play a basketball game and come home to do homework. Before I left for school I said to my mom how much I did not want to go, and how I could not stand that I would not be home for 12 hours. Looking back, these days are the ones that define high school for student athletes. Getting to see your teammates in apparel on game days, and being anxious all day. I really do not know how I could complain about this. Not being able to do this anymore makes those days feel even more special. 

My day now includes homework, Netflix, and trying to get out and go on runs. It is boring only seeing my family, and when I Facetime with my friends we run out of things to talk about. I think that this pandemic will define this generation of kids. Before and after Coronavirus. I think the scariest part is that nobody knows what is coming. Will we have a prom? Will we even go back to school? 

It hurts me to think that I might not get to finish my junior year in school with my friends, and It saddens me to think I might never get to see my senior friends in the hallway again. 

This experience has taught me how fast life can stop, and how the little things in life don’t really matter when your family’s health is in jeopardy. I realized how important it is to be able to get food for my neighbors who are old and can’t go out. I realized how important it is to check up on friends. I know that after this is over, I will never complain about going to school, or anywhere again.