Staying Connected — Alaska

COVID-19 has taken over everything. School, trips, and meetings with family and friends. This pandemic has been extremely difficult for all of us and is still a struggle. With everything packed into 2020 and this year so far, I am incredibly grateful that my family was not hit hard by the pandemic whereas others have not been so fortunate. When COVID-19 first started to hit its course in the United States, Alaska in general shut down pretty quickly. In my city, everything was closed and we were having around zero to three cases a day. In order to maintain contact, yet stay safe, I met people outdoors, taking safety precautions. During this time, I went camping, running, biking, nordic skiing, reading, and I hung out with my small circle of friends every so often.

Up until the third quarter, my school district had managed to stay closed and have classes online. Both of my parents are teachers and with schools starting to reopen again, my parents and I are not excited to go back. They are both older and almost ready to retire. Even though I am young, who knows what effect this virus will have on my family and me? There are so many risks that I am not sure I am ready to go back to school. I would, however, go back if the cases were low enough but at the moment, they are just too high. I also believe it is easier for me to stay online than for others because my district has three classes in a quarter instead of the usual six. I understand that for other students school has been a struggle. I feel that almost everyone, including me, has little to no motivation to do school work. Every day feels the same and I constantly count the days until the weekend; by the time that it does come, it is over before I have the time to blink. It feels like a cycle that never ends. I am sure that many others also feel this way.

Later this year, I finally realized that so many good things have happened this year and would not have happened if not for COVID-19 and all the chaos that followed. Every once in a while you have to focus on the good to get through the bad. Getting through this crisis has been a crazy ride for our generation. I have hope that soon enough, I will be able to go places once again. As always, wear a mask, social distance, and stay safe!

— Tahlia Carroll, 14,

Anchorage, Alaska