In person student perspective

I typically wake up to the sound of a blaring alarm at 6:00 a.m.,  and after snoozing over homework for an hour, I leave the house at around 8:25.

I put on my required materials – my mask and student identification, and take the mandatory health screener before walking through the front doors. 

I follow the one-way arrows down the halls that guide me class to class that are also preventing me from being thrown into hallway congestion. With two different class release times, the tweaked seven-minute passing period is barely enough time for me to make it before the tardy bell. 

Come lunch time, I take a whiff of the cafeteria aroma and before sitting down at the “socially” distanced tables. While waiting for my food, I shuffle my feet forward, pausing periodically when they land on a sticker that signifies six-feet spacing between each lunch-line loiterer.

Once the final bells of the day ring, (the first one dismisses student drivers; the second letting me and my fellow pickup drivers leave, and lastly kids riding bus can release) I either go home or dispatch to my extracurriculars.

During my extracurriculars like theatre and student council, I must keep my mask on at all times since one exposure risks a whole team being quarantined. In place of the annual fall show, now theatre has a monologue and musical based compilation due to social distance being enforced on stage.

Behind uniformed masks, it can be hard to differentiate who’s who at times,  but I’ve learned to adhere to this new normal to keep my classmates and me safe. 

Sure, I could avoid trouble and go to school virtually from the comfort of my own home, but I know I would go crazy with the lack of social interaction. Without a bond with my teacher, I would struggle to motivate myself during class. 

Even with hallway traffic control and sitting spaced out at lunch, it’s worth it.