57 How a Modern Teenager Tackles a Pandemic
Hayley
The generation before me remembers where they were when 9/11 happened. That’s me with finding out about lockdown. It was the day before my birthday, March 13, 2020. I was in grade 11 and about to turn 17 years old. In school, I heard murmurs in the halls about the Corona Virus. My friends debated if it was cringey to start masking. When someone on the PA system announced two weeks of school closure, I realized this corona thing might be a big deal. In class, someone comically put Clorox wipes on their desk. Everyone thought it was a funny exaggeration to bring disinfectant wipes to class, but she was ahead of her time.
Brampton had a full lockdown. This meant staying home, only essential workers going to work, school closures, mask mandates, and social distancing. My dad urged my family to take extra precautions on top of what was mandated. He’d say, “Don’t just wear a mask, wear gloves too. Stand further than 6 feet apart. Shower after going outside.”
The extent of the lockdown varied from the first wave of COVID in March 2020 to when most mandates were lifted in June 2022. During the summer, people were allowed to socialize outside in small groups. There were also a few weeks of in-person school that were limited to one cohort going to one class in the morning. However, it was short-lived as cases increased afterwards. Vaccine rollout began in spring 2021. Since my sister worked in healthcare, she was the first person I knew to get vaccinated. To get a timeslot for vaccination was the same as going on Ticketmaster for concert tickets. When I started university, we had to do MacCheck – a way to self-report that you’re not sick. I needed MacCheck to go to labs or the gym. Once the schoolwide mask mandate was lifted in June 2022, life finally felt normal again.
My greatest challenge was accepting the loss of a normal high school experience. Initially, I was sad that I didn’t get to go to the aquarium for my birthday. This turned into me mourning the loss of my stereotypical high school experience. Sports, prom, and graduation were canceled. I also missed doing monotonous things with my friends like shopping, long drives, sharing food, sleepovers, or just sitting in class together.
Now I treasure the quiet life I had in the comfort of my home. I’d join the class on Microsoft Teams while making breakfast. After my first class, I’d meander into my sister’s room to bother her and nap in her bed. I’d wake up right on time for my second and last class of the day. When I was done, I’d play Animal Crossing New Horizons until my friends were online on Discord. We’d play Among Us or Rocket League and have deep talks until extremely late at night, hence why I needed to nap between my classes. If I wanted to see my friends in person, I had to rationalize it by saying I was exercising outside. We took up tennis, which is now a beloved hobby of mine. Although I was sad about missing quintessential high school experiences, I had something that was unique to my own generation. I miss being able to spend so much time with my sister and nowadays I never have the time to play so many games with my friends.
For me, a prevailing theme was secrecy. It was imperative that everyone stayed home to prevent the spread of COVID-19. My dad was especially strict about adhering to these rules. However, I had a boyfriend I was keen on seeing, and it was easy to sneak out. Since my dad worked nights, I just had to wait for him to go to work. My boyfriend lied to his parents saying he was going on a bike ride. While we went on walks or car rides, we’d be paranoid about people recognizing us. In hindsight, I can’t believe I was so willing to jeopardize my household’s health. I guess I thought the chances of us asymptomatically carrying COVID were low.
The only person who found out was my physics teacher. We had an assignment where we had to build cars powered by a mousetrap and film them driving to prove they worked. My teacher noticed that my boyfriend and I filmed in the same location. He emailed my boyfriend saying something along the lines of, “You and Hayley met up to film your videos?? OOOooooo”. Without the context of COVID, it sounds like he’s teasing us for hanging out together, but knowing we were on lockdown, I thought he was calling us out for breaking the rules. Maybe he was doing both.
