Grateful — New York

Schools have arguably been affected the most throughout this pandemic. Since their closure, I never got to enjoy my summer. Life during the pandemic just felt long and draining. I went from enjoyment to sadness about the time that laid ahead of me. Before school closed in March, I had wanted more time to do things I like. I had to wake up at 5:30 AM to take a packed bus, which most of the time just passed my stop. Each day I was begging for a way out of this horrible life. To my surprise, COVID-19 did that for me. I did not have to wake up as early, I saved 2 hours of commuting, and I had more time to finish my homework.

The learning point in the situation is that I want to go back to waking up at 5:30 AM. Funny, right? I didn't know I had such a good life until it changed drastically. COVID-19 took so many innocent lives from us this year, but in the midst of all of this, it taught us a very valuable lesson: never take anything for granted. 

— Nathan Rampersaud, 16

Queens, New York