When COVID first hit, I didn’t take it very seriously. It just seemed like a far off virus that I shouldn’t have been too concerned about. But as a couple of months passed, I realized it was serious from the start. Around March, instead of continuing to have practice at school, I was stuck at home. It became a huge issue for me. I had mostly A’s and B’s before that, but my grades totally dropped. Communication was hardened severely. The first days of online school didn’t even seem so bad: I thought I could rest when I wanted, not feel as much pressure as I would have, but I was being blindly optimistic. Much of online school really showed me that my work ethic was not strong for completing assignments. I managed to get through the remaining school year and was thankful for the summer. But COVID-19 then hit me another way: because it caused my parents to work less, we didn’t have enough money for me to go to school for virtually the first half of the entire school year. Once again, during that time, I was pressured and pressured to continue my studies myself and to be prepared for when we had enough for me to go back. I at least was able to practice my musical skills at the time. When I finally returned, it was a bit strange, obviously, as I hadn’t really been out much, or in a standardized school system, in months. I still haven’t really adjusted fully; I’m currently having a hard time catching up, especially since I got COVID-19 myself and had to stay home for two weeks. I can say that in general some elements of this situation are slowly improving, and they could certainly be much worse, so I won’t complain about it; nevertheless I want this to be over as much as anyone else does.
— Issac Bell, 16
Jackson, Mississippi
