by Hena Hussain ‘20

The last day we were at school, I jokingly told my friends, “watch this be our last day of high school.” At the time, I hadn’t anticipated the idea that we really might not be able to come back. I thought Covid-19 wasn’t that serious, and it would all blow over in a few weeks. I’m disappointed that my senior year was interrupted. After being so stressed the last couple of years, I was hoping to finally relax and just be a kid for a change. I wanted to go to prom, go out with friends on the weekend, and have some semblance of calmness in my life. Moreover, I wanted a sense of closure to my high school experience. I got into my dream college, achieved mostly everything I wanted to, and was ready to end this chapter of my life. However, with everything shut down, it feels like things have been left hanging with no end in sight.

Regardless, being stuck at home is pretty great. The first couple of days of online school were a bit stressful with trying to organize all my assignments and figuring out what had to get done. But after establishing a schedule, I found I had more time to get things done at my own pace. I can watch lecture videos my teachers have posted online when it’s convenient for me, and skip over parts that I feel comfortable with. Instead of going to school for seven hours then coming home to five or more hours of homework, I only have to sit through a few classes and then complete any assignments. This has left me with more time for things I didn’t have time for before, like going for walks around my neighborhood and spending more time with my family. The current situation is frightening, and at times seems surreal, but there is still comfort to be found in the little things.