The Car Ride to School- Maia Albuquerque

  

September 6, 2050

Mateo woke up this morning dreading going to school because he wasn't looking forward to this new year. He got ready quickly, brushed his teeth, took a shower, made his bed, and got changed. Then he ran down the stairs since he was running late. He had a bowl of cereal and poured in his milk and sat down at the dining room table. He ate quickly grabbed his backpack and shoved all of his papers inside and went running into the passenger side of the car and slammed the door. As soon as he got into the car he began complaining about how much he didn't want to go to school, and how he wished summer could have lasted longer. Every year we argue about the same thing, a small hand sanitizer attached to his lunch box. He hates it because he says he isn't a little kid anymore. He complained about having to go to school and how much he wanted to stay home instead of having to leave every morning for school.

Mateo said, "It's so stupid that I have to go to school. I wish I could do school from home, so it would be easier, like you did, Mom. "

  I took a deep breath and reminisced about my entire virtual experience. I remembered everything from my virtual lunches with my best friend Sam to being afraid to leave my house. Before I said anything, I took a deep breath and then said to Mateo, "Virtual schooling isn't what you think."

As we pulled out of the driveway in my purple SUV on the way to his school, I began to tell him my experience with virtual learning. I told him that virtual schooling was the safest option in 2020, most people didn't even know when we would resume school in person. Going to school in person didn't even seem to be an option. The coronavirus was a global pandemic that infected millions of people worldwide. It wasn't even safe to go to the grocery store let alone school. It was for our safety. Mateo opened his mouth as if to ask a question, but I stopped him and said, "Simply listen, mijo, okay." He nodded and I proceeded with my story.

Virtual schooling made school harder. It really wasn't easy, the technology didn't really work in my favor. The technology loaded very slowly and lagged. I had to use multiple devices to attend class and read the material the teacher wanted me to read. I even had to buy a new laptop because the school-issued one didn't work very well. I actually had more homework and my classes were split into an a and b-day schedule. Although we were given more days for assignments, it was more materials we had to study on our own because we met less frequently. I had to do most of my studying on my own and I struggled to find a balance with my school work. I was extremely stressed with my workload. I paused in my storytelling and glanced at Mateo who was paying attention to every word that I spoke. I continued on with my storytelling him about how I would socialize with my friends from a distance through the use of google duo and facetime and how I hadn't seen my friends in person in over 6 months. Mateo appeared to be in shock with the form of communication that I had developed. Then, he asked, " What about your family how were they during this time?"

Today was actually the first time in a long time that I had thought about my father and how he had contracted COVID. I said to Mateo, "I want to be honest with you, I was terrified of getting my friends or family sick, or even myself. I was especially worried about your Abuelo, my father because he had the virus at one point. I was afraid he would get sick again. I was very nervous about this entire pandemic. My bisa and abuela were older and were at a higher risk so I was terrified that they would get very ill. My parents wanted me to go to school remotely because they were nervous too. "

Mateo looked at me and replied, "I'm sorry that that happened. "

I told him, " It's not your fault, mijo. Mateo, if you take anything from today is this, treat every day as it is your last and live it to your fullest because you never know when one event will change your life, value the little things, your health, your home your family. I never could have imagined the events that happened in my young adult life. Everything changed, but we adjusted and made the best of it. We gave thanks each and every day that we were safe and healthy. That is why I insist on you bringing your hand sanitizer, I lived through a different time. That small gesture is the best I can do to try and keep you safe."

I continued driving until I pulled up in his school drop off area. He grabbed his backpack and lunch box. I grabbed into the back seat and grabbed a small hand sanitizer that I had bought him. This year he didn't complain.