Hi my name is Egypt, I’m thirteen and I want to share my experience of social distancing during this coronavirus pandemic.
Although we worry about the people with the coronavirus being the ones to actually get sick, this pandemic has everyone going a little crazy.
Watching Tik Toks, YouTube, and Netflix all day, has easily gone from very entertaining to very boring. It’s almost to the point where there’s no more new things to watch or activities to do.
Having to stand 6 feet apart from friends and family has been quite the new experience for me. Only being able to leave the house for necessary objects, leaves out in person clothes shopping and purchases of vanity items. With all non-essential businesses being shut down, my visits to the nail and hair salon are no more.
Not being able to see my friends has been one of the worst parts of being quarantined. Usually I would go to school, come home and hang out with friends. Since the pandemic, I haven’t been able to do that and it has been hard not being able to go to the mall, the movies, and restaurants.
Personally, the worst part of quarantine for me was video calling friends and family on my birthday, to celebrate over the phone. For the first time ever, I couldn’t invite anyone over or do anything special except bake myself a cake and celebrate with family, food, and Facetime!
Even though there are things that I don’t like, there are things that I have learned. Being quarantined has taught me how important it is to socialize with friends and family, to stay happy and maintain my well-being. I have also learned how important it is to get daily exercise to keep up my physical and mental health, whether I spend that time walking, running, or dancing.
This pandemic has made me realize how important it is to go to school, especially since online school isn’t nearly as beneficial as regular school is. Learning through computer screens hasn’t been teaching me everything that I should know in my grade, especially since I will be moving into high school very soon. I’m concerned that I won’t learn everything that’s required for me to know during the time of online schooling since videos, PDF’s, and google docs aren’t as constructive as being in a classroom in front of a teacher and being able to ask questions to understand. In class, I’m usually the first one with my hand up ready to expand my thinking and learn more, but now my resources for that have been limited.
I now eat and sleep more, as I’ve learned how to cook and make new things myself. I have also learnt to manage my time and ensure time for online school.
Despite all the changes, I have faith that our society can get over this pandemic sooner rather than later and that everything can go back to normal.
Written by: Egypt Morgan, age 13
