March 22, 2020

Journal #1:
How is the coronavirus affecting your life — physically, socially and emotionally? What changes have you, your friends, family, and community experienced? What has been the most difficult aspect for you?

The recent outbreak of the coronavirus has made a major impact in my life physically, socially, and emotionally. Physically, I am actually able to set aside time to eat healthier and workout more, which I personally do enjoy. Although I’d much rather be in school with my friends, I do like have some free time. Socially, I absolutely hate this. As much as I love seeing my family, I can only handle so much. I miss my friends so much, and talking on the phone with them is much different than talking in person. I miss being able to interact with my teachers and other peers. I feel like I’m isolated away from my friends and I really just want to see them. I am also not handling this very well emotionally. My emotions have been peaking, with me getting very upset and scared as I hear more and more about this outbreak. I am also a lot more sad recently. I feel like not being able to interact with people outside of my house is affecting my emotional being a lot. My mental state hasn’t been as good as it usually is, the main reason being the lack of social interaction I’m experiencing. I also feel like I’m going insane more and more each day. I feel claustrophobic 80 percent of the time and I’m sick of being stuck in my house. But, I know that this is all for a good reason and will be worth it once the virus dials down. For now, talking on the phone with my friends and going outside occasionally is the best I can do.  The main changes my friends and I are experiencing are not being able to physically interact and talk to one another in person. My friend group is very close and we hang out very frequently. The major change is our plans of hanging out being stripped away. My family is also going through major changes. My mom and dad are both working from home, my brother and I are also home from school. My older sister’s college classes are online for the rest of the semester, meaning she is also home. The main change is that my immediate family is spending 24/7 together, but trying to stay out of each other’s way for the most part. My community is on lockdown. Most people don’t leave their houses unless they absolutely need to. Our community doesn’t seem too fearful, though. We have had less than 5 confirmed cases so far, which I think is pretty good. Everyone in my community is handling this pretty well. Although I miss my normal life, I’m glad everyone is respecting other people’s safety. The most difficult aspect for me is the sudden change of my life. Before this all happened, I was excited for our school play, school trips and just being in school. But in what seemed less than a week that was all gone. I realized how much I took for granted the little things in life. I miss the freedom of just being able to go to school and see my friends. I hope the Corona Virus goes away just as quick as it came.

March 30th, 2020

Journal #2
“Last week we focused on the difficulties that the coronavirus has had on you and your family, friends, and community. This week, think about the positives. What are some things that you have been able to do while not at school? Have you accomplished anything new? If so, what was it? Most importantly, what are two things that you are grateful for today and why?”

While I am not at school, I have been focusing more on myself. I take a few hours everyday to work on school work, but I don’t have much left. I like to make sure I eat enough food and that for the most part, it’s healthy. I make sure I drink enough water, too. I also make sure my house and room are clean. With the cancellation of school I now have time to workout too, and everyday I have free time. Although I’d probably rather be in school, I am getting a lot done and I feel very productive. I have accomplished a new workout routine, and I also started reorganizing my room. I’m also able to see my family a lot, which at some times annoys me, but usually they’re fine. I think the biggest thing I am able to do is practice driving. Recently, I got my drivers permit, and my parents have been taking me on long drives to get practice. On sunday I drove for four hours, and I felt really accomplished. One of the things I’m grateful for today is that my family and friends are healthy and safe. New York State makes up almost half of the CoronaVirus cases in the US. That is insanely scary and crazy. I’m so thankful that my family and friends are healthy. I miss my friends a lot, but staying inside is the right thing to do, to ensure the safety of my friends and family. The other day, I was sick with a cough, sore throat, and not a fever, but I felt hot with occasional cold chills. I got it from my sister who came home from college after being in an apartment where her roommates traveled out of the country. We don’t think it was CoronaVirus (thankfully) but we were definitely sick. So, I’m thankful that we are both healthy now. I still cough, but I feel a lot better. My sister is almost completely rid of the symptoms, so I’m very thankful for that. I’m glad that my family and friends seem to be doing fine and handling this whole experience really well. This is the first time in my life and my friends’ life that a pandemic has ever gone this far. We’ve had epidemics in our lifetimes, but a lot of them didn’t even affect our country. The second thing that I’m grateful for is the way our community is handling this. I genuinely expected people to be mean and sour about this, but when I’m grocery shopping, people are generally nice and not grabbing everything off the shelves. At first, it was the opposite. People were hoarding essentials, and took more than they needed. I’ve seen a lot of social media posts that show people taking more than they need, leading to other people having nothing to take. Fortunately, in Little Falls, our workers are doing a really good job at keeping our stores in stock. Overall, I’m really hoping this whole experience is almost over, so we can return to our normal lives.

Class of ’22

It was the middle of March when the LFHS closed down because of the COVID 19 pandemic. I didn’t think it would really ever happen, but it did. Everyone was afraid they were going to catch the virus and everything was closing up. At first I thought we would miss just a week or two, but here we are 3 months after and we are still out of school.

All students were forced to work from home because we couldn’t be near each other in case someone caught the virus. I thought of it as a little vacation at first, but as time went by, I realized it was more than that. It is hard to learn from home on the chromebooks because there are too many other things to do at home. It isn’t like sitting in a classroom where you have nothing else to do but your work. Students had to try to focus in their home surroundings and be responsible enough to get the work done without sitting in a classroom. It is much harder at home. I like being able to ask the teacher when I have a question and getting the answer right then and there. When you have to wait, you aren’t focused on getting the work done anymore and find other things to do. I have a feeling that this is really going to affect students’ grades because I don’t think I am the only one having trouble focusing at home.

Life became really boring after school was let out. Everyone has to stay home and away from everyone else. It was really scary at first because everyone was scared and it is constantly on the news. It seems like nobody trusts anybody because they think they might give them the virus. Hanging out with friends wasn’t a thing anymore. Everyone quarantined themselves so they didn’t have to be around anyone else but their family in the house. It isn’t as bad anymore, and I hang out with my friends sometimes, but not as often as I used to. When I do, I can only be around a couple at a time so we don’t have a big group.

My mom is an essential worker and I used to be afraid that she would catch the virus at work. I never really wanted her to go to work and expose herself because I was afraid she was going to catch it. I’m not really worried anymore. The numbers are getting lower and I’m used to it and she hasn’t been exposed yet so it’s not as bad as it seemed at the beginning.

When this just started spreading, people were going crazy in the stores. They were buying everything off the shelves. They bought all the disinfectant, toilet paper, canned goods, and dry goods out of the stores so they would be ready to spend a long time in their homes. We ended up with a ton of food in the house too. It isn’t so bad anymore, but the shelves aren’t stocked like they used to be because people are still buying them out. Also, the stores changed the way they do things. You have to wear a mask to go in and disinfect the cart on the way in. They now have plexiglass at the cash register so the germs can’t spread from the customers to the workers. Some people even wear gloves so they can’t get germs on their hands.

A lot of people lost their jobs because places had to shut down to stop the spread of the virus. Some food places are able to stay open but nobody can go in and sit down to eat. They all have to get take out. A lot of food places turned into carside pick up so people don’t even enter the buildings.

I am hoping that things turn back to normal soon.

I miss going to the places we always went to to get out of the house and have fun. I can’t wait to eat in a restaurant and walk the mall. I never thought I would see the day that we can’t do any of that anymore. I hope when I am older and have kids, they will be able to see what life was like before the pandemic. I realize now how fast a virus can spread now, but I hope things can get back to normal so people aren’t always afraid to be around each other.

As the coronavirus continues to spread, people are isolated in their homes with little connection to the outside world. Daily life, plans, and activities have been changed as people strive to find a new normal. Usually, in the spring I would be playing softball and studying for my finals. But, I cannot keep track of what day it is because there is no schedule and virtually nothing to do. Today has been the same as any other day for the past month or so. I do my homework each day and spend quality time with my parents.

I love spending time with my parents and I hope to continue to have a great bond with them throughout my life. I am extremely grateful that my parents and my extended family do not have the coronavirus. I think that social distancing and proper hygiene are preventing the rapid spread of this virus. I hope that people continue to practice social distancing so this virus stops quicker and infects fewer people. My parents and I have been following health guidelines for the community. For instance, I have not seen my cousins in months, and I miss them dearly.

The most difficult aspect of self-isolation is loneliness as I cannot see my friends or my extended family. I am used to seeing my friends six or seven days a week between school and extracurricular activities. My friends and I have stayed in touch daily through social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram. I have talked to new people and reconnected with some old ones through this difficult time. Although I have more free time on my hands to do new things, I want this virus to be contained.

The coronavirus has opened my eyes and made me realize not to take anything for granted.

My parents have gone to work each day thus far. I go on periodic walks for exercise and the streets are bare. I have been trying to stay active and positive, but it is hard. I am extremely bored, although I am trying to make the most of it. My goal is to be useful by cleaning my room and going through my clothes to give away. I have also played certain board games that I have not played in years, and spent quality time with my family. I am trying to make every moment worthwhile. I miss school and realized that I may have taken it for granted prior to the coronavirus outbreak. Online learning is an adjustment for students as well as teachers. It can be difficult, and often stressful. Personally, I think that there are advantages as well as drawbacks to online learning. As of right now, I think that staying out of school until the coronavirus settles down will be the best idea. In the long run, separation and online learning will be helpful to our community.

The coronavirus has made me realize how valuable healthcare workers are. The healthcare workers on the front lines are the true heroes during this unpredictable time. I have a lot of respect for the workers who put their lives on the line every day. Some people take their health for granted, but I encourage people to view good health as a privilege instead of a right. There are many people in the United States who have passed away due to underlying health conditions. I hope that healthcare workers will be able to obtain a greater understanding of the virus so they can cure more patients. This pandemic has taught me to live day by day and sometimes, hour by hour. Every moment blends together, and before you realize it, months have gone by. It is hard and stressful to do the same thing each day and I am looking forward to having a normal life again. I realized that by making a gratitude list, it shows that I should be grateful for what I have, instead of being upset with the current circumstances in the world. There is nothing more that can be done other than staying inside. I firmly believe that everyone will be a lot happier when we return to some form of normalcy. This will be a long process, but there is light at the end of the darkness.

We can’t go to school so school has been moved to online.