The Virtual Nightmare You Can't Escape - Jason Baldanza

The Virtual Nightmare:

            As the global pandemic COVID-19 continues to take its destructive course in America, teenager's lives are being changed forever. Most schools have remained shut down and it is creating a very boring environment for teens at home. Some schools that have reopened had to be closed again due to people who contained the corona-virus. It really isn't a safe environment and most teens understand that but it is very tough to get through this as a teenager.

           High school is usually the prime of a person's life. They gain freedom, receive their license, make great friends, and make so many lasting memories. With the current situation, the prime of many teen's lives can't be experienced in the same way that it should be and there isn't much people can do about it besides stay inside and take safety measures around others. Although school in person was stressful at times, many teens and I miss the experience compared to the virtual courses we are taking now. Virtual courses have their benefits and their cons but in my opinion, the cons outweigh the benefits. I understand that it still isn't safe to go to school in real life though so we have to be careful but this results in a boring era for many teenagers.

           Virtual courses are a complete different environment than real life classes. It is very hard to communicate with your friends in class unless you go into breakout groups but most of the time the groups are selected by the teacher. It is much harder to learn certain topics in class because it is less of an individual environment and it unnatural to many people to interrupt the teacher and speak in front of the entire class. It is easy for me to participate in class because I am pretty confident but to people who are shy it is a challenge to them and I know some classes have participation grades which isn't fair to them. It is also easy for me to concentrate in online class because there aren't any distractions around me like there would be in school. Overall, the virtual environment is very different and hard for many people to adjust to. I just wish life could go back to the way it used to be like early last year. I had so much fun with my friends and made lasting memories but now memory making is limited due to COVID-19.

           When I'm not in classes or doing homework, I'm either spending times with friends and family, playing video-games, or working out. I'm not playing any sports right now so instead I work out for an hour or two a day. What I really enjoy about virtual school is that you can get extra sleep since school starts at 8:00 AM instead of 7:20 AM. The extra hours of sleep allow me to be more concentrated the next day. When school was in person, I was only getting 5-6 hours of sleep on weekdays but now I'm getting 7-8 hours of sleep on weekdays. I also love how the lunch period is an hour and ten minutes. It gives me a break to eat, be productive for classes, or relax. Although the classes are 65 minutes long, I can make a comfortable environment for myself to attend my classes and complete my schoolwork. All in all, life has been changed forever but people must adapt and work together in order to get through these tough times in the USA. It will be over soon but until then, people will continue to cope in their own ways.