This is the year we’ve all been dreaming of, but with COVID-19 senior year 2020 has become a living nightmare. School has never felt so divided and stressful with some kids online and others directly in the line of fire at school.

Being in school puts a lot of pressure on me, especially when it comes to doing things that once brought me some satisfaction or genuine joy. The school district should have made learning all virtual. It’s the smarter, safer and most effective way to get things back to normal.

In previous years, I never had to worry about the next available electrical outlet in my classroom, but now in every class I sit in front of a screen and type my heart out using a computer that could potentially lose my work if it dies. In most classrooms, students can’t completely social distance because the rooms are not built big enough. No one can social distance in the hallways because they are way too narrow with the kids bunched up together like schools of fish.

The main reasons students wanted to come back was for the social aspect which is also twisted backward from the virus. You can’t assume just because that’s your best friend that means she’s safe. Having to stay far away from people you’re close to is hard, especially when you haven’t seen them in a long time.

Being in school right now does not benefit my learning style because the coronavirus limits interactions and hands-on learning. It’s just an excuse to get out of the house. At the beginning of the year, we had only about 450 kids in school. Now we have more than 600. This will most likely blow the cases up, causing even more of the teachers, staff and students to have to quarantine.

Why would they want a greater chance for the number to rise when they can continue to decrease the spread? Let’s be honest not everyone gets out of school and goes straight home, showers, disinfects and stays on lock down for the rest of the day to wake up and repeat.

The school doesn’t have the money to make the classrooms bigger or hallways wider. If everyone were in virtual school, that wouldn’t be a concern. Plus, if you stay home you can eat whenever it’s convenient, you don’t have to worry about infecting loved ones, and you get to be in your pajamas doing work. We were not able to have a homecoming dance, because the number of COVID-19 cases in our area has not gone down enough. Staying home, washing your hands and wearing a mask are the only ways to bring down the numbers. If the cases decrease, the seniors might be able to have senior activities, and we might even get to have a prom. This is our last year we have together. Let’s follow the guidelines to keep everyone safe and hopefully move forward with school.