I saw someone say that we are right around the time of the four-year anniversary of the start of quarantine in the U.S., and I was just in shock. The fact that it has been four entire years since the start of it all is actually wild. For me, I was halfway through my 7th-grade year when it all started and we got the notice that we would have to spend two weeks at home. Then, the two weeks turned into two months, and two months turned into the next year, for my school at least. Looking back on who I was during these times, now being almost a senior in high school, is genuinely just wild. I do not think any person changed as much as I did from the start of quarantine to now. Since then, I graduated middle school, moved to a different state, and started high school almost 500 miles away from the house I called home for my entire life beforehand. I have found out so much of who I am through experiences, new faces, and recognition of personal growth. Some of the people I look back on quarantine with talk about how much they miss it and how it was one of the best times of their lives. For me, it could not be more opposite. It was probably one of my lowest if not my lowest point ever. I have never really struggled with depression, and I never got a certain diagnosis, but I do believe I was not in a good place during quarantine. When I was younger, I always hated being alone. It was probably one of the worst things on the planet, which is highly ironic considering my “close family” of parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and siblings consists of a whopping four people. I don’t have any siblings, and I only live with one adult, considering my dad passed away when I was younger. My mom, however, during quarantine, still had to work – as she was a nurse. Typically, her long work hours and time away from home were no big deal, considering I was always in school and able to see my friends. During quarantine, however, I was subject to being entirely alone from the moment I woke up to about 6pm for the entire work week. Remember how I said I hated being alone? Well, I think you can imagine how that went. Being the only form of connection with the outside world we were offered, I became addicted to screens and calling my friends while goofing off and playing video games. My grades started to slip for the first time in a long time, and I entirely stopped taking care of myself. All I would do throughout the day was lock myself in my room and stare at a screen. As you can imagine, my lack of fresh air and human interaction really took a toll on my mental as well as physical health. To the credit of my mom, she tried to help me out of my insane slump by offering to get outside together and spend time in the house together, too, but I was entirely uncompliant and depressed. Looking back, for the longest time, I always wished I could do it all over again and do things differently. I would have focused my extra time on myself and bettering myself in numerous different senses. However, I am glad I went through that slump because it taught me that behaving like that is not something to be desired and not something even remotely healthy to strive for. Anyway, I highkey just wrote an entire essay on my quarantine experience, but I just thought it would be nice and timely to debrief at the four-year mark.
OVS Journalism Blog 