By Carlos Prudencio
An unscheduled vacation from school; just what every high schooler wants — except when there is pandemic going around and it threatens our lives.
It is not the fact we are in our houses that makes this difficult. It is that we can’t see our friends in person, can’t sit at a restaurant, and can’t go out without thinking that the person next to us might infect us.
Without a doubt we do admit that we don’t mind sleeping in and watching Netflix. But school hasn’t gone anywhere. Our grades still exist, and to just stop in the middle of the semester really scares us and makes us anxious. You see, some of us didn’t do well on a test, and it dropped our grade. However, we thought we could bring it back up.
But now marks have closed, and we are stuck with that grade. It is no fun dealing with group chats blowing up your phone because your friends are confused why grades were closed, or if they even did close. Then to have them text you that they had a really bad grade and now their GPA is ruined.
This exactly is what happened with a friend who found out that grades for the third semester had closed, and couldn’t believe it. The person was hysterically texting me that her GPA was done for and it will prevent her from getting into a good school.
More important, she said it would jeopardize scholarships for her, valuable money that helps her get a higher education. This hit me hard. My friend was worrying about an undetermined future, and she panicked for a simple letter.
“I’d say it’s definitely affecting our social life like we’re interacting less and less,” my friend, Hernan, said — and he is definitely right.
Yes, we have phones, but it doesn’t come close to talking with your friend in person. On another note our prom was canceled and we don’t know whether we will get a prom or not. I have gotten countless texts about prom and if it will be rescheduled, if people get their money back.
The most difficult part is not able to give them a concrete answer. All the questions float in the air — “Is prom canceled?” “What about our grades?” “When are we going back?” “Where do I find the work online?” In such a confusing time all we want is answers but can’t find them.
Now how does one cope with the madness? Easy, with each other. Even with all the questions and the confused text, we try to comfort each other, letting each other know that we are in this together and some way we will get out together.
It also helps that we have Netflix parties, which are pretty good coping mechanisms.
COVID-19 has shifted a habitual world we need know into one that is constantly changing. Nevertheless we are resilient, though and among ourselves, we are adapting to the hectic world day by day.
Carlos Prudencio is a student at Lynn English High School
