When you think of 2020 the first think you think about is COVID-19. We took a peek at our old newspaper from that time and wanted to show you this article that Lily Coupland (an old journalism student) wrote in 2021: Lonely Doesn’t Even Describe It. To compare I wrote my own article describing the feeling now that COVID isn’t a hot topic anymore called Finally Free.
Lonely Doesn’t Even Describe It.
On March 12th, Ohio’s governor, Mike DeWine, closed all schools for two weeks. I was so excited to have a long spring break; But then businesses, restaurants, malls, and sports were all being shut down, and I knew it was serious.
Quarantine began, and we weren’t allowed to leave our houses unless it was deemed absolutely necessary. Over the next few months, I couldn’t see any of my friends or family. My social life was limited to my phone and the people in my house. Everyone was talking about Covid, and there was no way to escape it. Watching the news was very upsetting because it seemed as if the quarantine was never going to end. These times were very lonely and difficult. It’s crazy to see the difference between before and after Covid hit. Before Covid, my family and I often went out to eat. It was a time for us to sit down and talk about what was going on in our lives with no other distractions. Now, we rarely go out to eat, and it’s harder for us to keep up with each others’ lives. I also would often go to the mall, movies, or skating with my friends. Some of those places are now closed, so I can’t do those activities anymore. The biggest change in my life was school. I didn’t realize how much I relied on school for socializing with my friends (and even my teachers).
I lost a lot of friends over quarantine because I never talked to them outside of school, and I think that is what hurt the most. Sometimes change is good, but not this kind of change. This was all too much for anyone to take in at once, especially at our age. Around the beginning of June, life started to become pretty normal again. Small gatherings were allowed and stores began to open back up. Schools and sports started back up in August, but with social distancing guidelines and mask mandates. After schools opened, cases began to rise quickly. School was shut down from the beginning of November until just after Christmas break, which left kids stuck with remote learning. Now things are pretty optimistic! Niles has been back at school four days a week since March 22nd, and things are running pretty smoothly!
Finally Free!
Now with that, it’s been five years since the COVID-19 outbreak. It seems pretty weird to think that we went from
staying “locked in” to returning like nothing has ever happened. The only mention of COVID is to see if you want your booster shot.
Just to think when we eighth graders were in THIRD grade we were on Zoom calls or Google Meets everyday to learn. Then we went from no school at all to going two days a week with masks and hand sanitizer stations everywhere. Once we got to the middle of fifth grade, we finally felt somewhat normal. I vividly remember my English teacher Mrs. Doelling ran into the classroom “THE MASKS ARE GONE!! The masks have been released!” Everyone ripped off their masks and threw them away or put them in their locker. Everyone was so excited. However, we still had to keep our distance.
From masks and clear plexiglass dividers, we never got the FULL elementary experience. Now, we are in middle school and about to go to high school. What does this next chapter bring us? Let’s hope it brings us a chapter of a new beginning. We know this will always be talked about, especially when we have grandchildren and they ask. This is such an important part of history, and as painful as it was to live through, it was interesting to think that YOU lived and survived a pandemic.