A Reflection from our Youth
The first time I felt the direct impacts of COVID-19 on my life was on March 13, when FCPS announced that school would be canceled for at least a month. At that time, I wasn’t sure how serious this virus was going to be, but the situation quickly escalated. Before I knew it, school was closed for the rest of the year and the whole country was being encouraged to use “social distancing”—a term I had never heard before—to protect ourselves and others from the virus. The first few days of school being closed felt like an extended vacation. Most people didn’t know how serious the situation was yet and I was still able to do normal activities with my friends. As more and more information came out about COVID-19, and as the U.S began to see an increasing number of cases, going out became less and less of an option. Once Governor Northam issued a stay at home order, it wasn’t even an option at all. Usually, I’m grateful for time off of school because I am able to relax at home for a while, and that was how I felt at the beginning of the lockdown. After a few days, that feeling of gratitude faded, and now I miss seeing my friends and the rest of the community. I have also been worried about health; not so much my own, but of the more at-risk individuals in my life. Most nights, my family sets aside time to pray for everyone being negatively affected by the coronavirus. As a teen, it's hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that I am living through a major world event. But even with all the scary information being thrown all over the media and the looming threat of a plague, I try to find ways to be productive anyways. All of this extra time has allowed me to expand my knowledge in areas such as music, even though my guitar lessons have had to be online. I am also keeping up with studying for the end of the year exams in my classes through videos on YouTube made by AP course teachers. Despite COVID-19 threatening my way of life, I am finding new ways to live, and that is how I will beat the coronavirus.
Connor D.
