Giselle G., Tower Heights Middle School
The Different Effects of the Pandemic
Isolation, the state of being in a place or situation that is separated from others. Covid wasn’t brought to my attention until schools began to talk about how serious it was getting, and how they would be shutting down schools early during spring break for a while, due to safety regulations. What I never expected was to be out of school the rest of the year. The exciting long break turned into a devastating, long, lonely quarantine.
After schools were closed and we were forced to quarantine, I didn't think my relationships would be affected the way they were. The longer we were in quarantine, the more separated I became with people. I didn't talk to people from school for months. With all the crazy things that were happening in the world, I couldn't comprehend that it was all a reality. On April 19th my world changed. A close friend of mine passed away and I completely lost myself. I couldn't bring myself to do school work; I felt heartbroken. I lost all feelings of hunger and thirst. With all the negativity and tragedies that were happening in the world, I couldn't focus. I can still remember getting the call that said, “I'm so sorry but she’s passed away.” I had not talked to her since I started my 7th grade year, and I never said goodbye. That took a toll on me for a while.
After hearing that devastating news, I realized you never know when your life could come to its end. So I developed a new view on life and decided to become my better self that I needed to be. I reached out to people that I hadn't talked to in awhile, I started to try things that I was afraid to try before. I stopped caring what people were thinking and continued hobbies I was embarrassed about. Covid affected more than we think. It didn't just cause sickness physically but mentally. So many people struggle with mental health and being in quarantine left people with themselves and no one else. Not everyone can change their mindset, and that can make life so much harder to go through.
When I got my new outlook on life, I started skateboarding again, I began to teach myself guitar, and I got closer to my family. I found things that made me happy during a very depressing and stressful time. I believe that life is what you make it. If you live life being pessimistic and not optimistic, you will be miserable during these hard times. People come together during or after tragedies but just because this tragedy is what tore us apart physically doesn't mean we can't show love and kindness to each other. If being in quarantine has shown me anything it would be that we need to show compassion during hard times or we will never get through it together. We treat life like a race when it's all a team game, a game of life.
