Thank you again to Ms. Kemper and her students for being willing to share these excerpts with us. If you missed the first post, click here.
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Usually, on a Sunday afternoon, I’d be waiting eagerly to get in the car to drive to Monmouth to pick up my best friend and drive to youth group. This Sunday, however, I lazed around on the couch waiting for a video call with my youth pastor and friends. Usually, Sundays were a time to socialize and be active, two things I usually don’t do. But that was before quarantine, now I have to get my exercise in other ways. Now, when most teenagers are taking advantage of the situation and sleeping in, I get up at 6:30 to run with my dog down the road. I always have been a runner, the treadmill in my room gets used frequently, but it isn’t the same as running through the woods or down the road with the wind in my face. […] I know most people, including me, have gotten tired of their families, […] I have been sleeping in a tent to get away from my brother and sister, who bicker constantly. Other families have been growing stronger and gotten to know each other better once children and teenagers got bored with their cell phones. I have never owned a cell phone, never wanted one, but nowadays I wouldn’t turn down the offer of having one. Many people have discovered things about themselves they never even considered before being stuck inside there own homes for a month and a half.
-Anon
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Before Coronavirus, I would walk to all my classes. If Coronavirus didn’t put us in quarantine we would all be in school. If we were in school, I would walk to all my classes. The only class to class walking I am doing now is from my room to the kitchen and back. That is how coronavirus has affected my everyday life.
-M. Stubenrod
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This quarantine has been extremely rough. Every single day is the same thing over and over. My mom makes this much harder than it has to be. Me and her are very toxic and it just stresses me out. But it’s alright. Just gonna live my best life.
For the first week of quarantine I thought it was the best thing ever. Everything was all good honestly until April. Then I started getting bored with everything. I just did the same thing every day. I’d get up, eat, sleep, zoom calls and shower. That’s all my day consists of. Until the weekends. The weekends I spend with my dad and we go on drives for a couple hours and listen to music. It’s my favorite thing. The vibe with me and my dad is just so happy until I have to go back home to mom’s and do nothing. I love her but I’m just bored all the time and I hate it.
[…] This is all just a big change for me, it was only a few months ago when I was going to school, seeing my friends every day and being much more happy then I am. My mental health is not gonna get better if I keep staying with my mom. I personally think this quarantine is not necessary. Everyone dies at some point and this is a natural death. It’s normal. Let’s just live our lives to the fullest and try not to worry about it.
Quarantine is clearly not making my mental health any better, but I wonder how other people are getting through it. I’m gonna make some changes for the better, like selfcare. I’m gonna spend more time with my dad and just worry less. I’m sure everything is gonna end up fine and we can all be happy pretty soon.
-Anon
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The first thing that came to my mind that I miss is softball. I have been playing pass with my dad almost every day now, we also went to the field once and I really needed that. Also I find it annoying that most of the sports could play and at least start their season and softball couldn’t even start practicing. Been trying to get outside and play as much as possible but I still have school work to do so I can’t play as much. If this crisis happened earlier then I wouldn’t have a problem because my sport wouldn’t be in season.
The second thing I miss would be not able to do karate on Tuesdays. I miss my friends there and being able to train for my brown belt. They shut down the Boys and Girls Club in the middle of testing so that is why it is even more annoying. I don’t take karate from the sensei there I take it with someone who I’ve been with for about seven years now and he borrows the dojo once a week. Training here isn’t the same, there is more room in the dojo, and being forced to my limit makes it better.
[…] All together this quarantine made me miss a lot of things from my sports that I play to missing my friends. I get out as much as a can and try to keep training and also stay caught up on my work at the same time. It has been stressful, but it has been stressful for everyone, and I know I’m not alone during this.
-J. Rivard
RSU 18 Messenger 