19 Coughing Up the Truth: My COVID experience

Anonymous

When the COVID-19 pandemic first arose, I was in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. I was 16 years old and completing my final semester of grade 11. The day before March break started, we got an email saying that we were going into lockdown for 2 weeks due to outbreaks of the pandemic. My family was scheduled to attend a cruise in the Caribbean, which unfortunately was cancelled due to the alarming incidence of COVID-19 cases, specifically on cruise ships. We went into full lockdown for 2 weeks, which then got extended for the remaining semester and the summer (6 months). I would say that I experienced numerous day-to-day changes during this lockdown. First, I was not fully used to spending/seeing all the members of my family for the whole day, every day of the week, which tested everyone’s patience. Both my parents had to start working from home, and my brother also had to stay at home and attend school online, so it was difficult to find time to be alone with my thoughts. At first, I found adjusting to the new reality of how school was conducted difficult. At this point, teachers were not accustomed/trained for online school delivery. The first few weeks were confusing as each teacher had a different way/platform they used to share the content and assignments. I felt a bit lost as it was hard to stay on top of schoolwork and learning while being so disconnected from my classmates and teachers. Something else that I found a bit challenging was getting used to the isolation. People I would see regularly were completely out of my life unless we communicated through text/phone calls, but the upside was the fact that my immediate family grew rather closer during this time. My family would try to eat and play games together, which challenged us to keep our minds occupied with something other than just sitting on the couch watching TV. During this time, I found myself having a lot more free time to get back into reading books and completing art projects like colour-by-numbers paintings. These activities helped to keep me occupied as it would get rather boring repeating the same routine every day. My family would also go on daily walks as we felt like this was the only time we could escape the confinements of our home and enjoy some fresh air. Another big adjustment was how everything shifted to online platforms. For instance, I would have to watch Sunday mass on the TV every week and then go to the church at a designated time to receive holy communion. I would also be asked to do online simulated labs and driving school scenarios.  Overall, I feel as though my COVID experience was a drastic change, especially at a point in my life where I was supposed to be transitioning from child to adult. 

I think something I felt that was heightened during my COVID experience was secrecy. The most obvious case is the anonymity regarding vaccination status, or the current severity of the disease conveyed by the media. Many people avoided disclosing whether they were vaccinated, fearing judgment or controversy. At the same time, conflicting reports and changing narratives in the media made it difficult to know the full extent of the pandemic, leaving many unsure about what to believe. This atmosphere of secrecy led to people being confused, skeptical and overall distrusting of everything and everyone. It seemed that anytime someone got sick, they would feel hesitant to even mention they were sick as they didn’t want to be associated with COVID and have people distance themselves. In a more unrelated sense, I feel as though secrecy was normalized in my personal life, whether it may be through work or school. Due to the online aspect, kids would make up excuses/lie about why they couldn’t hand in the assignment, claim that their camera wasn’t working or ask for accommodations they didn’t need because of the circumstances.  Since there was no tangible way to hold people accountable, it was easier for people to take advantage of the situation to suit their own agendas. 

I think that virtual schooling was one of the biggest drawbacks and challenges that I experienced during this pandemic. Since COVID-19 struck during my final 2 years of high school, I felt as though my education was significantly compromised as the information that was crucial to my post-secondary success was being adjusted/simplified for easier online delivery. I also felt increasing anxiety about getting into a good university as I didn’t know how the school would consider grade distribution or merit due to the circumstances. The school systems during this time were severely disorganized and chaotic. To be fair, everyone was learning how to adjust and doing the best they could. In my high school, when the new school year started (grade 12), they implemented a cohort system to streamline the number of kids in the school at a time. Half of the students (last name A-M) would go to school for half the day, 3 days a week, and stay home and attend virtual classes the other times during the week. This schedule would alternate every week and got rather confusing over time. As time progressed, the school implemented quarters instead of 2 semesters. This meant that we only had two classes for about 2 months till we switched to the next two courses. This was another challenge as we had a small period to focus and learn one subject before, we had to begin the next quarter. Even my first semester of university was online. I felt it a challenge to watch pre-recorded modules and do online labs, tutorial assignments, and discussion groups. I also didn’t feel much motivation to keep up with scheduling time to watch pre-recorded lectures as there was little accountability. Surprisingly, I did not find online testing easier, and my grades during the first semester reflected this. I believe this was because I wasn’t in a proper testing environment where external stressors would typically signal me to focus and stay engaged. Without the structure and atmosphere of an in-person exam setting, it became easier to get too comfortable and, as a result, put less effort into tasks that required my full attention. The lack of interaction made it hard to make new friends and experience the traditional occurrences that go along with being a freshman in university. I felt robbed of many key life events due to online school. Even my high school graduation was a drive-through in the school parking lot instead of a ceremony. While my COVID experience taught me the resilience of our race to adapt to difficult circumstances, I wouldn’t want to relive this period. I felt like I truly missed out on experiencing and developing crucial memories. I think online school will have long-term impacts on others my age, and it was a “crutch” that prevented us from pushing ourselves to absorb and learn information. The online school made it easier for people to cheat the system and find ways to not put effort into their work. I think this will make kids complacent, resulting in them expecting accommodations in other aspects of their lives.