My students share their stories as part of the global project “A Day in my Life: living under the Covid-19 Pandemic.” We hope you and your students enjoy reading them!

A Day in my Life: Grace, 18, Bellarmine Preparatory School, USA

It’s been one week, although it feels like it could had been a year with all the emotions felt. Tomorrow starts my second week of distance learning. Last Monday I woke up 8:45, sat up in bed and was ready for school at 9. I thought to myself “wow this is nice, I don’t need to get ready or drive to school,” I can simply get up only 15 minutes before and be ready. Normally 10 minutes before school I’d be climbing out of my car and meeting my best friends in front of it to all walk to class together. Instead I looked at my phone and saw new messages from them. My screen was full of funny pictures and hilarious jokes. The girls were sending pictures of their new “campus’s” and “new teachers”, being their rooms and iPads. We were all making light of our new situation. The week went past and there was no more making light of the situation. Fear had taken over, sadness had sunk in, and reality had hit. I may have had my last day of senior year without ever knowing it.

Senior year is what I have dreamed about for years. Having two older brothers, I saw how much fun they had with their friends their last year of high school. For as long as I can remember I’ve been imagining what my Senior year would look like. It involved things like senior trips, prom, nerf wars, college decision day, and graduation. It didn’t involve having my trip or brother’s wedding canceled, it didn’t include online school or not seeing my friends, and the thought of not knowing if I’m going to be able to walk the stage on my graduation day was never even a thing. Sitting here it’s hard to even write this. I’m so angry and confused, and most of all scared. How can a virus take away one of the most important years of my life? It came and took away everything in less than two weeks.

I haven’t seen my friends in a week. No, a week isn’t that long but it’s knowing that none of us know how long that week could turn into that makes it so hard. I stay home because that’s what we are told to do. I don’t want to get this virus but more importantly I don’t want to give it to anyone I love. Despite these feelings all I want to do is go hangout with my best friends. I want to go on drives with the windows down singing at the top of our lungs. I want to hang out with them at their houses and talk with their parents. I just want to hug them and tell them how much I appreciate each and every one of them, but I can’t. I can’t do any of this because of a term I’ve never even heard before a week ago, social distancing. I’m a high school senior and I’m supposed to be social distancing myself. This is my last year with my friends, I should be making the most of every single day with them, not keeping myself away.

None of this is going to be easy. Every time something gets canceled, I’m going to once again feel that deep pang of sadness. At this moment all we can do is make the most of it. Appreciate this extra time with our families that we never would’ve had.

A Day in my Life: Claire, 17, Bellarmine Preparatory School, USA

For me, I do not think anything about this unexpected break has seemed normal. Even on the first day that I woke up, it was strange to know that I would not be back to my school routine for more than a month or be able to spend some of this precious time that I had left with my friends in high school. Adjusting to the online school itself has not been too difficult since my school does implement technology into the coursework and homework. The hardest adjustment is not being able to see people in person. Although, group chats and video calls have proved to be extremely helpful for communications. Outside of my schoolwork, it has also been difficult to stay active and run especially since I cannot leave my home. So, I have tried alternative exercises and conditioning.

This experience is frightening in that it is nothing like anything else I have experienced in my life so far. It does worry me what could happen in the future and there is still lots of uncertainty about this particular virus, but I am also hopeful for all the organizations and people working towards a solution and cure.

A Day in my Life: Makiah, 18, Bellarmine Preparatory School, USA

• 8:50: Wake up

• 8:55: Brush teeth and wash face

• 8:59: Login to online zoom class

• 9:00: Welcomes by teacher and classmates on online zoom class

• 10:00: End of first online class of the day

• 10:15: Start of second online class

• 11:15: Lunch

• 12:15: Third period zoom class

• 1:30: 4th and last period zoom class

• 2:30: School is out

• 2:30-1 am: Try find and do anything that will take my mind off being stuck in my home all day. Repeat this schedule until further notice.

This has become my everyday reality and almost every Bellarmine student’s routine since March 12th. Being in this predicament for so long has given me time to reflect on the world I’m currently living. It’s come to my realization that our nation’s leaders aren’t properly prepared for the worst. I’m concerned for our nation as a whole with this entire virus because it’s spreading fairly quickly now, and the United States now has more confirmed cases than the original source of the COVID-19 outbreak, China. Our nation is in fear of the unknown. Not knowing how long we will be quarantined in our homes for or how life will resume afterwards.