Voices: One student looks back on a COVID year

Eden is a junior at Rappahannock County High School. at’s not her real name, but she asked not to be identified. For most of this school year, she has been on a hybrid schedule of two days in school, three at home. Next week, she will start attending in-person classes four days a week. is is her take on what her past year has been like.

What was it like when all this started?

I thought, “Okay, I can do two weeks of nothing.” For a while COVID was like this really nice break. en they extended the time we weren’t going to school. My biology class was supposed to have this huge final exam that was worth a lot of points. But instead, because things had to shi so quickly, we were given a pretty easy study guide. So I passed biology. I was so happy.

What about over the summer?

I had a lot of summer camps that I was super excited about. en some got cancelled, and some said they were only going to use Zoom. One was an immersive language camp. You can’t do that over Zoom. I was so bored and didn’t get to see people.

Did you stay connected with your friends?

I wasn’t able to go to camp with some of them. at put a big damper on me. We tried to Zoom, but this is Rappahannock and the internet doesn’t work well.

How was it when you started back at school?

Some kids thrived with online learning. I would like to be one of those people, but I am not. School’s hard for me, and I don’t like being there all the time. But when I’m there, at least I do my work. When I had to start working from home, I spent hours at night trying to keep up. Emails had to be sent back and forth with teachers. And constantly, stu had to be explained. I was so lost sometimes.

Were you able to reconnect with your friends?

We used to hang out in the halls between classes. Now we can’t. And half my friends are on the other hybrid schedule. Another one is all virtual. And another one doesn’t even go to Rappahannock anymore because he couldn’t do the online schooling.

How has this a ected you academically?

I’ve been a good student and have tried hard to do all the things I needed to do to go to college. I was motivated. Now I’m doing a lot of procrastinating. My work is late. And I don’t feel I’m learning as much. I hope and pray that I’m passing. I think a lot of my friends are also failing classes. ey’re usually good students, too. We had such high hopes, but we’re failing.

How do you feel about going back four days a week?

I have mixed feelings. I feel like I’ll learn more. And I think I’ll do better having the structure of school. On the other hand, there are some things about school that give me anxiety. ere are people I’ll have to see constantly when I go back and I’m not ready for that.

How are you feeling about your junior year?

I was super excited about this year. I had gotten into the whole school spirit of pep rallies and homecoming. I had all these plans. But then all that shut down. I am an animated person, but there’s nowhere for that energy to go.

Anything else that you feel you’ve lost?

I’m really grateful for the friendships I do have. But with friendships that were just starting or getting better, all that progress has been lost. at’s really sad. Because I want to be more outgoing, I made a goal of making 150 new acquaintances. But I made that goal right before COVID. en it was like, ‘Well, dang.’

Do you think you’ll be able to bounce back from this?

I think some kids adapt really well. But others — and sometimes I’m included in that group — depression and anxiety can become such a big aspect of your life. Part of my mental health requires knowing that I’m loved and that people still care.

Some people will be able to pick right up a er COVID, and it will be great. But some people — including me — are going to struggle coming out of the box again and being the happy, charismatic people we were. I think a lot of the depression and anxiety are going to take a while to go away. It may never go away completely.