This is a short reflection on my experience with Covid-19, virtual school, and anxiety throughout the pandemic. This is a reflection of the years 2020 and early 2021

Abood, Madison

English

Sacred Heart University: DigitalCommons@SHU

Covid-19 was a very memorable time to be living in. I was sixteen years old, enjoying school, having fun with friends, working on my school’s musical, and navigating my sophomore year of high school. Everything was normal until March 13th, 2020, an announcement came over the loudspeaker and our school principal told us that we would be switching to an online learning model for the next two weeks due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Two weeks at home turned into a month, which turned into two months, which then turned into the rest of the school year being online. My sister and I were at school in our bedrooms, seeing our friends and families only through phone screens. We would have family FaceTime calls with my grandparents and aunts and cousins weekly to check in. We didn’t know when we would see them again.  It was a scary time with everything being so unknown. Many of my family members and myself struggle with anxiety and with everything being so unknown it was very hard for all of us to cope. I remember that there were times I was watching the news and every day I would see the numbers of confirmed Covid cases and confirmed Covid deaths increase, and it was terrifying. Not knowing if the world would ever go back to the way it was before Covid made me extremely anxious. Navigating online high school and seeing all of the things that I was looking forward to get cancelled was really depressing. I often had thoughts that the world may never go back to normal. I had to learn methods to cope with my anxiety and know that at some point everything would be okay. Being in quarantine for so long made me appreciate seeing people in person, going to school every day, eating lunch with my friends, and being able to perform on stage for an audience. It was a very tough time for me mentally, but it made me more grateful for the everyday experiences and the small things that I took for granted before the pandemic.   

Mental Toll

https://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/context/covid19-reflections/article/1156/viewcontent/auto_convert.pdf

Mental Toll

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Sacred Heart University: DigitalCommons@SHU