As more people get vaccinated and COVID-19 cases decrease, we polled students and family members on their thoughts regarding the pandemic, and how it has affected them. Here’s what they said:

“The pandemic has changed my life in the sense that I have not been able to see most of my family, friends, or even interact normally with other people. However, because of Corona, I have gone outside a lot more than I typically would have. I was able to work on bettering myself and reflect on events happening in the world around me. I do not necessarily think we are completly done with Covid, and I’m not sure if we will ever be done with it, but we are definitely getting close to a sense of normalcy,” said freshman Gianna Bernier.

“I‌ ‌think‌ ‌that‌ ‌we‌ ‌are‌ ‌beginning‌ ‌to‌ ‌reach‌ ‌the‌ ‌end‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌pandemic,‌ ‌“‌ ‌said‌ Senior Sam Baghal’s mother, ‌Dana‌ ‌Baghal.‌ ‌“Although‌ ‌it‌ ‌is‌ ‌still‌ ‌a‌ ‌very‌ ‌large‌ ‌threat‌ ‌for‌ ‌many‌ ‌countries,‌ ‌now‌ ‌that‌ ‌a‌ ‌vaccine‌ ‌is‌ ‌being‌ ‌distributed,‌ ‌the‌ ‌majority‌ ‌of‌ ‌cases‌ ‌are‌ ‌decreasing.”‌ ‌

“After‌ ‌experiencing‌ ‌the‌ ‌pandemic‌ ‌and‌ ‌going‌ ‌through‌ ‌lockdown,‌ ‌I‌ ‌have‌ ‌definitely‌ ‌learned‌ ‌to‌ ‌value‌ ‌the‌ ‌time‌ ‌I‌ ‌spend‌ ‌with‌ ‌friends‌ ‌and‌ ‌family‌ ‌much‌ ‌more,”‌ ‌said‌ ‌Senior‌ ‌Jamie‌ ‌Hamalainen.‌ ‌“COVID‌ ‌has‌ ‌changed‌ ‌my‌ ‌perspective‌ ‌on‌ ‌how‌ ‌important‌ ‌communication‌ ‌and‌ ‌interaction‌ ‌is‌ ‌after‌ ‌having‌ ‌to‌ ‌go‌ ‌without‌ ‌it‌ ‌for‌ ‌so‌ ‌long.”‌ ‌

“The pandemic was kind of nice I got to discover new things about myself and the people around me in my house. It also gave me a chance to focus on things I like to do without my school peers judgement but I am so glad to be coming back I need to have my senior year next year,” said Sierra Stewart, junior.

“Most people that I know have been vaccinated, or are planning to be, and that makes me feel optimistic for this summer and for the months after that. I feel like the worst of it is over in some sense,” said Cathlene Galloza, sophomore.

“The pandemic kept our family together for a long period of time, probably longer than any other time in our lives. We were all under one roof and that definitely brought us closer, which was a good thing in a bad time,” said Lian Piao, mother of sophomore Eunice Chi.

“With the vaccines, I feel like we are really close to ending this pandemic. Though I feel like COVID will never fully ‘disappear,’ I have hope we will get back to where we used to be and COVID will be just like the flu,” said Sophomore Maddie Galesi’s mom, Jodi Galesi

“Taking some time off really allowed me to reflect and have some time to myself. When we first got into lockdown, I stopped doing cheer and realized it was for the better. After taking off a couple months from cheer, I realized it isn’t the sport I wanted to be doing and I wanted to try something new,” says Sophomore Arianna Wood.

“Not much of my life has changed but as a teacher its difficult to interact with students through a computer especially since I work with special needs kids” [needs name]

“The pandemic changed my  life in many different ways, as it has also changed our society. There are so many things that we used to do before the pandemic that we may never go back to doing. I have definitely gotten closer to my family and prioritized my mental health due to the andemic. I do not think we are over it yet- but as a society we are definitely taking steps into the right direction.” said freshman Sasha Abramsky’s cousin. [needs name]

“The pandemic changed my life because in a matter of two days we were indoor for a year. We aren’t over the pandemic yet, but we are getting there,” said Lizzy Boulos, sophomore.

“It allowed me the time to slow down to focus on myself and my family, away from rat race of life. We are coming out of the pandemic but not over it. Life is getting busy again and there’s more socialization,” said Genevieve Boulos, senior Daniella Boulos’ mom.

“This pandemic has been nothing but a headache and I think all seniors going back to school will give them a good farewell to their classmates before they all leave and graduate. It’ll be good for the kids to finally have each other’s company in their last few weeks together,” said Dana Sevean, Senior Dia Ciccone’s mom.

“If this pandemic has taught me anything it’s to not let anything hold you back, because anything can happen and you never know when your “lasts” events and seeing people will be so take it for granted,” said Gia Ciccone, freshman.

“Even though there was a lot of stress from the fear of being infected, the fear of the virus is getting lower day by day. The virus also took a lot from us such as not being able to go to work or school, and especially not being able to meet with friends” said Muazzez Aksoy, Sophomore Hikmet Aksoy’s sister

“This event help me understand the importance of interacting with people and it had a huge effect on regular things such as meeting with friends or school” said Fatih Ozturk, Sophomore

“This pandemic has changed my life for the better and worse. I don’t like being isolated from friends and distant family, but I was able to grow closer to my siblings and parents. I am optimistic that many people are getting vaccinated because it spreads hope that the pandemic is almost over,” said Logan Ntansah, freshman.

“Even though I am fully vaccinated, I still wear my mask in public places to make myself and others feel safe. It feels almost normal to wear a mask out in public, and I don’t even think twice about putting one on, I do it subconsciously,” said Kristen Scala, Brielle Scala’s mother.