Covering COVID-19: Students and teachers share perspectives from home

My family had been planning to go out to Colorado for spring break, something we do every year.  We got there, unpacked the car, and the mountain ended up closing 30 minutes after we arrived.  Luckily, my parents and aunt used to live there and still keep in touch with a lot of friends in the valley.  We ended up staying with one of my aunt’s friends, Susan, at the ranch she and her husband l...

I was kind of worried at the end of March because I had just been in New Orleans during spring break and there were a lot of cases reported there. I didn’t have it, but at the time I didn’t know and I was worried I was going to spread it to other people in St. Louis. I hope everyone is staying safe, and I'm really grateful for all the public health volunteers for risking their lives everyday to...

This year...I was able to turkey hunt anytime I wanted to….In Illinois, you only have seasons that run roughly a week, so a lot of times, I would not take a day off through the week, or I would have to take a Friday off to hunt. Since we were off, I was able to go as soon as I got my schoolwork done, or if there was a day where I didn’t have a lot to do, I could go. That was one benefit, and t...

I started making bread during the pandemic. A friend of mine gave me some sourdough starter, which is fermented flour and water….I have to feed it with flour and water twice a day, and I can use it to make sourdough bread. That was a big science experiment and kind of fun. Some of the bread was awful, and some was delicious, and I shared it with family….I’ve been baking a lot, and that turned o...

[The hardest part of quarantine is] not being able to see friends. [Instead], I've been either going to work or playing video games. I work at Schnucks near the school on the corner of Lindbergh and Clayton. [The store] is pretty slow now. We have some days when toilet paper is in and we get a lot of people. When there isn't much to get, everyone is scared to leave the house so not many people get...

For me, the hardest part about lockdown has been not being able to talk to my friends, who I would normally meet on a daily basis. During my free time, I like to play Xbox with my friends. I enjoy playing Rainbow Six Siege, and although I am still talking to friends, it is not quite the same experience compared to talking in person. I haven't picked up on any new hobbies, although I have been improving...

My favorite part about quarantine is the quality time I have with my family; we hang out and watch shows together. And we eat food a lot. Also I got a new puppy. Today, he is two weeks old. Taking care of him has kept me really busy and is a lot of work. I have been taking him on a lot of walks and have been picking up after him, which is really tiring.

I think the best thing about quarantine has been being able to spend a lot of time with my family especially because I will be leaving for college this fall. Apart from that, I’ve been spending a lot of time outdoors and have gone on hikes, bike rides, and runs in the beautiful weather. I think the worst thing has to be missing out on all the fun second semester senior activities, not being able...

I've been really concerned about people involved with COVID-19 like the public health workers. I’ve been a little worried about my father's safety throughout this pandemic as he’s a doctor and comes in contact with corona patients extremely often. It’s been a bit rough to go so long without seeing him but he’s doing something good for the world and I applaud his aspiration to help others....

Typically, I get to school at 5:30 in the morning, so I can go grocery-shopping every day. Now, I don’t have to start my day until 8 o’clock, so it’s nice to sleep in. I would say that the stress level is a little bit less, because I don’t have to be so attentive every hour….In the beginning, I was pretty hardcore about a routine. I have ADD, so if I don’t focus, write down a list, conce...

I've been really enjoying my COVID-19 break. It's nice to relax and spend time with my family. Honestly, I’ve been trying to take more time for self-care and do some fun things. I’ve gotten into baking things such as cupcakes and brownies. It's really fun to make and a good way to pass time. It’s hard to find things to do everyday, but when you can do some fun things to spice it up, it makes...

It's hard not being able to go out and not to be able to do what I usually do every day.  Because I miss work, and working out at Orange Theory and being able to just get up and go to school. It's difficult not to have a routine anymore, it's a lot harder. Especially into my senior year I don't get to go to prom or anything like that, and finishing off your senior year at home, it's really sad. But m...

Because of the Coronavirus I have been able to do tons of things that I would not normally been able to, such as being able to bike around on empty roads that are usually busy. I really miss being able to see my friends but I have really enjoyed having more time to run and paint and read. I have been learning electric guitar recently, it's going pretty well and I can play a few songs. There was one ...

The hardest moment of lockdown for me so far was finally getting the news that my spring rowing season had been officially canceled. My team trains for the spring regattas from November to March, so it was very disappointing to have all that work go to waste. However, we have team zooms and workout challenges to keep us motivated for next season, and the happiest moment I've experienced during...

The lockdown has really made me realize how important and valuable spending time with friends and family truly is. Although a lot of people see the quarantine as a negative event, I believe it is important to look at all the positives and cherish time we have to spend with our family while everyone is at home. A lot of my family lives out of the state, so having them home to spend time with has bee...

Some things that I have been doing a lot of in quarantine are baking and exercising. My younger brother and I have had a lot of fun making recipes for things like cakes, brownies, apple pie, banana bread, pumpkin bread, cupcakes, and cookies. It has given us something fun to do while not much else is going on. Another thing I have been doing with my family or by myself is working out. I run with my d...

The best thing about lockdown so far is the lower stress lifestyle we're in now. Before spring break my life was super busy day after day so when everything shut down, although I miss many of my activities, it is nice to have a break. One new thing I did in quarentine was help my little brother try to make his own cookie recipe. They didn't turn out amazing but he had fun. One moment when I was upset...

The most difficult part about quarantine is having no motivation to do anything. I always have things I want to do but I end up not doing half the things I plan. Lately, I've been playing lots of animal crossing and learning java. Something new I have been doing is reading books about investing and stocks. I've learned that it's not as simple as people make it out to be. The best thing about quarantine...

The hardest part of being in quarantine is that I can't go outside and see my friends and family. I've been playing lots of video games to pass the time. I have been learning how to cook some new stuff. I've been barbecuing and learning to make some slides like twice baked potatoes, and corn on the cob. I wish I was able to workout much more than I am because I don’t have weights at my house. I am ...

[Something new] I did was buy Animal Crossing and play it. I also actually started using my iPad more; I bought Procreate, and I started using it for Drawing class….I did a [few] sketches, because I’m trying to learn how to draw in different styles….I think I can do different art styles at this point, but...drawing on my iPad...has been more consistent….It’s different, because when school ...

The worst thing about quarantine is probably just not being able to see my friends. At school, you see them every day but then when you're stuck at home you can't really talk to anyone in person. Also junior prom getting canceled was pretty bad and I was a little sad. A good thing about quarantine is getting to spend more time with my family. When school gets really busy, I don't always get to do ...

COVID-19 has taken away many things that I was looking forward to this year, like a spring break trip with my friends, DECA State competition and a chance to compete at Internationals, and Prom, but what has really left me devastated is my senior year being cut short. I have absolutely loved being a student at Ladue and have made so many memories and friends that I will cherish for the rest of my life...

The main positive part of the lock down has been the excess of time I’ve gained. It enables me to start up or re-begin a lot more activities. For instance, I can hang out with my cat more. While the lockdown has mitigated some people like myself by causing them to have a lack of efficiency with classwork and just an unwilling mood, it’s still the something that I really enjoy and I want to use ...

I think the best thing about lockdown has been kind of getting to catch up on things that I didn’t have time to do when normal school was going on, like TV shows….And I think I’ve been trying more new things...in quarantine, like baking. I went ahead and bought myself a [Nintendo] Switch, which was crazy for me to do….I just decided to do it….I think that, sometimes, it can be a little s...

I think the hardest thing that has happened to me during lockdown is not being able to see my friends. I miss hanging out with them on weekends and going out to get food late at night and driving around. I tried playing my brother's old electric guitar and my dad's acoustic guitar. I've been watching videos on how to play and learning new chords as I progress daily. It has been a very fun experience...

Since the stay at home order, I have gotten to spend a lot of time with my family. My older brother was able to come home which was fun because I don’t usually get to see him during the school year. Additionally, I have spent hours watching Grey's Anatomy and Tik Tok. Even though I have had plenty of time to relax, this experience is also very anxiety provoking. There are many unknowns and it is...

Quarantine for me has been pretty nice so far because I don't have to wake up at six o’clock every single day, and I’ve actually been kind of liking the distance learning format so far.  Doing everything on my own schedule has been awesome, although the downside is anytime I'm feeling unmotivated, then I'm not gonna want to do it.  I have had a lot more time to draw too, except burnout’s be...

My older brother ended up coming home during spring break, after our original plans were cancelled.  We were halfway to New Orleans, which is where we were going to go, when we decided on our drive down there to turn around.  New Orleans had pretty quickly become like the third most infected place in the country, so we decided to not go there.  We were in Jackson, Mississippi when we decided not...

The hardest thing about lockdown would be staying away from my friends and not being able to go to the usual place I go to. I miss going to the mall and restaurants and places like that. The things I miss most about life and school are mostly my friends, and regular school. Online school is just so much more rough than actually being at school. It's hard not being able to physically go to the teacher...

I think the most difficult part of distance learning has been keeping myself on task and focused. At school, teachers try to limit the amount of cell phone use, along with what we are doing on our computers. With no teachers, I find myself looking at my phone too often, however, I am learning to manage my time more efficiently. I think we're all starting to get used to our daily schedules, but it's defin...

The best part of lockdown is probably that I don't have as much work to do for school. This is great because I have lots of free time to do whatever I want. I've definitely missed hanging out with my friends, and I thought I'd never say this, but I actually wish that we had school right now. I think it definitely makes you thankful for everything that you have because it can be lost at any time....

I think that it is scary how quickly things can change and how serious this issue really is. It is hard to understand the circumstances of things when they are not affecting you personally. To calm my nerves, I made sure and am continuing to make sure I am staying clean and well sanitized. A happy memory throughout this pandemic has been spending quality time with my sister who is home from college...

I have really enjoyed the fact that I can go to sleep and wake up whenever I want, and I only have around two hours of homework everyday. So far, I tried to give my dog a haircut since she can't get it cut anytime soon. But, it did not go as planned, we were only able to try her back and it turned out very uneven! The most exciting moment of quarantine so far was our Laduettes parade for our seniors....

I’ve bonded with my family more now because of the stay at home orders.  We normally would just stay in our rooms before the pandemic, but now that we’re stuck at home, we’re spending a lot more time doing things together.  We’re watching movies together and playing board games together and hanging out together much more often now. We never normally used to do that very often.  I do thin...

The hardest part of the lockdown so far is not being able to see my friends in person, or not being able to go out to do regular things that I would be able to do normally.  But the best part of this is being able to see and spend more time with my family. Because before the lockdown I had dance in the evenings, so I didn't get to see them then, and obviously we had school and work during the day....

When I found out the water polo season was canceled I was really upset that I never got to play any games or actually learn how to play. And now going into sophomore, where you're still not going to know how to play. It's just knowing that coronavirus is messing this all up. But, I have been getting a lot of work done. I was really stressed before the coronavirus just because I was always out of the...

I have really enjoyed having more time to focus on things I like doing, such as running and sewing. I sewed a whole dress without a pattern which was super fun. It did not turn out as I expected but, I really liked it anyway. As for running, it has been nice to go my own pace and run wherever I want. As opposed to on the track which I would have been doing. I really miss my friends and hanging out...

“One of the best things about lockdown so far has been the fact that I'm able to like get outside more. Previously when I was in school, I didn't have a lot of time to do things for myself and now I am able to go outside. I've been going on walks and runs around my neighborhood. I have been able to go two-three times a week which is a lot more than before. I am currently also in the process of updating...

“I was sad when the track season got canceled due to the virus. I was really looking forward to doing track this year. However as we can’t do track, i've just been running on my own. It's really upsetting because I don't get to be with the team anymore. I run six to seven miles almost everyday. I also started a puzzle to keep me entertained and it has been really hard.”

So far, the hardest thing about quarantine is having to stay inside away from friends and I [also] miss the nice spring weather. I mostly miss seeing friends at school, but also the social interaction in general. With all this free time I have mainly stayed inside and used electronics like my phone, or my computer, in addition to catching up on sleep. I also talk to my parents and my brother, as ...

The hardest thing about quarantine for me is not being able to see all my friends and trying to focus on getting all my school work done [which] is hard because usually, you’re in class. I’ve been mostly playing in the backyard, playing soccer and finishing my assignments. I’ve been keeping up with school [because] it’s pretty simple because all my teachers give assignments on Monday and they ...

“I started getting more involved in political activism. I got into some, like zoom meetings of the sunrise movement and that's really fun. It’s basically activists pushing for climate better climate change proposals; they're mainly focusing on the Green New Deal right now. So yeah, it's pretty cool. I just started, so I'm going to the crash course meetings that’s like learning about it [the Gre...

Over the corona break, my brother and I built a mediocre gaming pc with a budget of $600. Other than that I haven't experienced anything really crazy. During the week of spring break, I got influenza B. It was tough, as I couldn't talk, eat or sleep. It felt like the end was near, but, because of my family, I pulled through and I'm feeling the best I could be.

“[I have] tried new foods while I had the time, like mochi…and dalgona coffee. Other than that, nothing has really changed…since the pandemic started. I bought the ingredients and tried to make [the] mochi myself, [using] rice flour and ice cream, but it…didn’t work out….I did [successfully] make the coffee by myself. [I recommend trying both] if people are ready to try different sensatio...

The most interesting thing I have done over break is playing tennis against a wall at my house because I didn’t do it before the break. I have a brick wall that is on my driveway that I can hit against. The hardest moment of the corona break is most likely not being able to go get food with friends because it was very fun. Sadly now I can’t even stand within six feet away from them. My most fun...

“The best thing about lockdown for me would be the fact that I can do school work at my own pace. [At] school, I finish my work really quickly, and I end up watching videos on my laptop while waiting for everyone else to finish and move on. I get bored really easily, and [because] I get [done] with work faster than others, I end up not focusing in class that much. With distance learning, I can finish what I ...

"The hardest thing is just having to sit inside for an endless amount of time. You can only go on so many walks by yourself. I’d love to play tennis with my friends and go out and watch a movie, but I am just stuck at home texting people. For a bit I did attempt to learn Latin and a few new piano songs and I did reteach myself how to solve a Rubix cube, but otherwise I’m just trying to review eve...

“Distance Learning has affected my ability to learn. But, it has also allowed me to pace myself at a speed I’m comfortable with. The hardest thing for me so far is balancing my job and my school work. However, being able to wake up on my own time has been the best thing about lockdown.”

“I like that I get to sleep more and do more during the day. I have way more freetime now. To keep myself busy I have been working out, cleaning my room, art projects and watching movies. I have also been doing the Chloe Ting workouts which is something new I started. My sister and I are building a little hangout area with cool lights and seating in our backyard. It is sorta like a shed but not a ...

“I like having my own schedule that I get to make up and do whatever I want, whenever I want. I’ve been cooking a lot of things and I started to learn how to play the guitar. Yesterday I made pasta from scratch and it was really good. I also made a cake and have been going on a lot of walks. The other day, my family and I decorated our car really nicely for our family friend's car parade. That was r...

“Yesterday…I had a birthday zoom with eight other people. Zoom wasn’t working for a solid 20 minutes, so we were late, but it’s okay….In the end, everyone got in, and we blew out an imaginary candle–even though…it was just fire on top of a cake [in Google Drawings]. Then, we played Drawasauras….That was a lighthearted moment in light of the pandemic.  It’s not like the good will forever outwei...

“[The] most interesting thing is seeing how everyone’s spending their time, now. My family’s doing home projects, and we’re painting the house, so that’s interesting. It’s also interesting to see how things are changing. Nothing really interesting has happened to me since I’m inside…. I’ve seen a lot of people pick up new talents or activities, like trying to do art, or reading…...

Recently, I have started learning sign language, which is something I have wanted to learn for a while, but just didn't have the opportunity to do. It has been a lot harder than I thought it would be, but I'm really enjoying learning something new. I have also had the time to learn new songs on the piano, which I used to play a lot as a child. I think that while staying at home can be really boring,...

I realized how much I've been taking face-to-face conversations at school for granted. When I'm at school I get to experience things alongside my friends and form memories with them; now I relate the memories I've already formed to my friends at the end of the day. It's just not the same. I've had time to introspect. I've been using some of my time to reflect over habits that I've developed over the ye...

The hardest moment of lockdown for me so far has been not being able to do the normal things I do and not being able to see friends. If we weren’t in lockdown I would be outside more, hanging out with friends and playing sports. To fill the time I’ve been playing a lot of Xbox and school but that’s pretty much it. Luckily, I haven’t had any problems with online school. It’s been pretty simple...

For me, the hardest moment of lockdown so far has been seeing my grandparents through a window while we dropped off their groceries one day. It made me so sad to see them stuck inside and it scared me to think about what could happen to them if they came down with the virus. My grandparents have been in lock down for a while. They are not afraid of the virus but they are taking necessary precaution...

The most exciting thing that has been happening in quarantine is our street’s evening big wave! Every afternoon at 5, people feeling lonely or just bored on our street go out and say hi to the other neighbors while keeping 6 feet away. There are no children on my block of close age, yet I still find it therapeutic to talk to my neighbors. There is genuinely no better feeling then the look of fulfillment...

When I first heard stories about the coronavirus, it seemed like a distant problem. I recognized how devastating the situation was, but I was desensitized to it, and couldn’t bear to imagine this would become something I’d have to worry about… yet here we are. However, as I’ve been social distancing, there has been a lot more time on my hands. Because of this, I’ve been able to bake more, ...

The hardest thing for me during this lock down has been finding ways to reduce stress. Recently, I have been worried about the new format of the AP exams, since nobody really knows what to expect. Also, I normally find tennis to be something that reduces my stress and lets me focus on other things, but I haven’t been able to play due to the pandemic. Despite these things, I have found several po...

I was upset that my lacrosse season was canceled. I really wanted to play the sport for the first time, I was honestly looking forward to it all year. Now it sucks not being able to see my friends at practice every day. But to pass the time i've been trying to bake. Even though it fails sometimes.  

Recently, because of the quarantine, I have been able to try a lot of new things that I would have never been able to do before. One night I decided to dye my hair pink because I have always wanted to and now was the perfect time. Since that process took awhile and I got really interested in my show and ended up staying up until 6:00 a.m. I decided since I was already awake I would go on a walk so I...

It has been weird that my whole family has been at home for over a month now. This has never happened and it is taking some time to get used to. The hardest moment of lockdown so far has been the fact that I can't hang out with my friends. Because of quarantine, I have had the opportunity to create my own schedule and do things that I want to do. I tried to do a really hard 2000 piece puzzle and succ...

What sucks about the quarantine is that I have no schedule anymore. I have no structure, which means I end up going to bed at three in the morning and waking up at three in the afternoon.  It kind of ruins my school stuff as well, because I end up doing homework at midnight with this sort of routine. It’s sucked, but there is some cool stuff that has come out of this stay at home thing, i’ve lear...

I’ve been in a kind of weird situation, because I actually moved houses yesterday.  So moving trucks and all of the logistics have made it a very long process that COVID probably made a lot worse than it would have been.  Saturday we had the moving people come, and they moved all of our cardboard boxes into the garage at my new house.  The movers had to wear masks and gloves, and my brother and ...

My sister and I share the same birthday (but we aren't twins). So, next week she'll be turning 22, and I will be turning 18. We've kind of been deciding on how that's going to look because we want to still celebrate while we are staying at home. We'll have to get creative. I'm just glad that we get to be together on our birthday this year with our family (last year she was studying abroad) , and that...

I was super sad when I left spring break early because all my friends were there and we're having a great time. But COVID hit, and all the beaches closed, and we had to leave. I was only a little worried because I didn't think Corona was that big of a deal. But then it started hitting Missouri and places around St. Louis really hard. Then, it got closer and closer and now we can't leave our houses a...

“It was my friend's birthday and instead of celebrating with my friend I went and dropped by a few presents and said hello from a distance. Social distancing is pretty hard for me because I am a social butterfly, so it's hard not to interact with so many people a day and only see my family. I like not going to school and doing less work. I don’t really do a lot of work because it doesn't effect ...

The coronavirus pandemic at first seemed mild and got us a few days out of school, but soon I began to realize it would have a much harsher effect on our lives than expected. I was especially hit hard when the Brevard Summer Institute, a six week camp I had been looking forward to attending all year, canceled their program due to the pandemic. At first I was angry, but then cooled down to recognize t...

I was the most afraid when we got notified that we will not be coming back to school. It showed the severity of the coronavirus, and made me more anxious. I began to feel upset when upcoming events that I was looking forward to got cancelled. I feel like I’m constantly getting notified about something new getting cancelled which made the feeling worse for me. However, talking to my friends has made...

It's hard not being able to see my friends and I honestly miss not going to school and just having a routine every day. I really miss having a routine and  planned out days and stuff. And, I don't really like the online school, because I just don't think it fits well for me. So I miss school, and I miss seeing my friends, and I think I'm not really good at staying at home with my family all day. I ...

“I started working out more because I have a lot more time. So I have probably gotten in better shape. I also started eating healthier because I have time to cook for myself. My mom and I bought a lot of puzzles and I have started running. My dad and I went on a hike before everything got shut down at Castlewood and that was fun. I kind of just want to leave and see my friends, but I can’t. Also...

"I think the best thing about lock down so far is I get to sleep in a lot more than I did before any of this happened. I just feel better because of it. It's definitely a different feeling with being home everyday, but I'm starting to get used to it more and more. Hopefully, we are getting closer and closer to getting to go back to normal life."

“...Even before the stay at home order was enacted, I was so scared. At school, I was kind of paranoid because there are so many people in a school building….You move classrooms, so you could have the same desk as someone [else]. That freaked me out, so I wiped down my desk. It was just a scary thing. At the beginning of the pandemic, I had two grandparents who were old, and now I have one grandpa...

The hardest moment of lockdown for me so far has been an extreme lack of motivation. I feel like I have to use every last drop of my motivation to complete work because being stuck in a house for a long time makes me lose my mind. The best thing about lockdown for me so far has been the amount of sleep I can now get. My sleep schedule is all over the place. I fall asleep some days at 10 pm and other da...

Currently, with so much free time, I have been learning artificial intelligence. I’m learning about image analysis and trying to build an image classifier and an object detector. I have also been playing Xbox. I was excited about possibly getting a chance to play a one on one game against the NHL player Robert Thomas on NHL20 by winning a tournament. Unfortunately, I got eliminated from the tourn...

The hardest part about quarantine is finding things to do, because after a while, doing the same thing over and over again gets boring. After, I have to find some other thing to do, to not be bored, which is hard. I am grateful for not having to wake up early everyday and having a lot of free time. I have started to go on runs to clear my head and have been watching a lot of Netflix to pass the ti...

One of the hardest parts about quarantine so far has been being disconnected from my friends and the outside world. I spend a lot of time texting other people on my phone but it isn’t the same as seeing and talking to someone in person. Also, keeping myself to a schedule has been a challenge. Because classes aren’t structured like they used to be, it’s hard to keep myself disciplined. With a...

“All right, so recently. One of my favorite video games, called Borderlands three came out with a new content pack, which is like separate from the main game. And it's the best thing that's happened because there were these characters in the original name game that were hinted at getting married at the content pack was literally just made adventure of you helping out their marriage. It's. It was so...

“In quarantine, a day feels like 10 years, so I can't really remember anything from last week. But I got a haircut. I got a bunch of new skills and focused on new things. And now I'm freaking cutting my hair––self-sustainable, talented. I've been doing a lot of random things. I taught myself to play the harmonica. I can play, and I’ve also been practicing the clarinet, I guess, and studying...

The lock down has given me a lot of time to like do things that I really like to do, and work on things that I wouldn't usually have the time to do if I was at school all day. I've been playing a lot more guitar which I haven't really had the time to do before. I've been able to learn a lot of more new songs on the guitar. I have been playing the guitar for around an hour a day, which is a lot more...

My grandma came into town, and she does cross stitching. So I decided I should try that. It's actually really fun and I really enjoyed it. It took a lot longer than I thought. If you mess up, you have to take everything back out and try it again. I was following a pattern and it took around two weeks to complete. I was doing it while listening to a podcast called dateline by NBC....

“The most difficult moment of lockdown is not being able to meet with my friends. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't be bothering me too much, because I tend to be more introverted and enjoy time by myself. But this year, one of my friends is moving away in May. And with the quarantine and social distancing rules, I'm unable to host a good-bye party or even meet up with her to say good-by...

I’ve worried a lot about family stuff. My dad's a doctor – he's not someone who's on the front lines of this – but he has to go into work still, like, a couple days a week. So that's just kind of worrying for him and he could be called in to do an ER shift and that would be that would be really scary because he’s healthy, but it could happen to anyone. My grandparents also live in the New York City ...

“[The best part about lockdown] has definitely been sleeping in. Just being able to sleep until eight o'clock is like an absolute game changer, especially after being sleep deprived for almost six months due to college applications. So, I think that's just helped me be more focused, more organized, and just adapt to the situation better. I mean, it was kind of confusing at first, and teachers were try...

The hardest part of lockdown was not being able to go to school, because it's hard to separate home from school. I get distracted a lot and end up procrastinating. Also, not being able to see my teachers and instead of being able to easily ask a question, I would have to write out a whole email to them. To attempt to organize myself, I actually started using a planner which I've really never used before....

In ALC, we're working on a Passion Project. We're supposed to do something that helps us grow -- something that we're passionate about. It's basically like finding a new hobby. My project is making a bunch of different ice creams and gelatos and sorbets and sherbets. We have an ice cream maker [to make the ice cream]. So how it usually works is you make the mixture -- you make a liquid basically --...

“Right now I am running 26.2 miles in 26 hours. My friend Emerson Barnett challenged me. We are going to raise money for St. Louis Crisis Nursery. We decided on this charity because they are in need right now and she has volunteered there in the past. I was able to involve others by reaching out to a bunch of my friends. Once I started reaching out, others joined me so the group kept growing. My f...

“Starting at 6pm tonight (Friday, April 17) I am running 1 mile (1.1 miles for the first two miles) at the top of every hour for 26 hours straight. My last mile will be at 8pm tomorrow night (Saturday, April 18th). So, essentially, I will have run 26.2 miles in 26 hours! But the best part- it's not just me! I'm doing it with a whole group of people! It's been really amazing so far. We are fundrais...

I was really upset when prom got canceled because I'd been looking forward to it, since freshman year. I also already had my dress picked out and it's kind of like a big deal for the end of high school, and so it's sad to lose something that's that important to everyone. But I guess I wasn't really surprised. I was expecting it to come, but it was just kind of sad because it was definitely not happening...

I have been inside for a month and my dad goes into work a lot because he's a doctor in one of the COVID units, so he's either home for a few days or the whole week he's basically at the hospital.  But the most interesting thing that happened to me was maybe something that happened five minutes ago. There were a bunch of honking cars outside on the road and they all had flags or balloons on them, ...

My older sister came home from Kentucky, so we've just been messing around and I've missed her. We've been staying up really late, like up to five am for no reason.  We played fortnite a couple times, and I yell at her and she yells at me and then we go to bed at like 5:00 a.m. or later. Then we get up the next day and were like ugh, school, but the best thing is not having to take chemistry tests,...

“ The best thing about quarantine for me is that I have more time to do non-school related things and I'm not as stressed from school. Usually after school, I'll have sports and then by the time I get home its late and I still have to study and do homework until like 10, and I'm super stressed. However now I'm not really stressed because I don't have any tests, and I don't have that much homework...

"I saw a Tik Tok of an Italian grandmother making pasta, and it was like a whole family thing and I thought it was really cute. It also made me really hungry, so I decided to learn how to make pasta. I found a recipe on the internet which was pretty helpful. My mom helped me, and making pasta together helped us bond and it was also really fun. It was my first time making pasta from scratch, and it...

I hate not being able to play my team sports. Although it has given me time to practice at home, it really sucks not being able to play with my teammates, and ultimately, my friends. [Instead], I go on runs to make sure I stay in shape. I also have picked up on baking every once and awhile. It’s not my favorite thing to do, but I enjoy it and it makes me feel like I’m spending my time producti...

The hardest thing about the lockdown so far has been not being able to go anywhere. I can’t play sports, go out to eat, or hang out with friends. Recently, I’ve been staying busy talking with friends on the phone or zoom, doing school work, and spending time with family. Even though the quarantine restricts things that I really want to do, I feel that if I stay positive and go about my day with a posi...

“Distance learning makes me feel kind of unprepared for next year, but I am grateful that I have more free time to spend with my friends online. I think that distance learning is really nice overall because I don’t receive too much work and I am able to work at my own pace. That being said, the worst part of the lockdown so far is losing restaurant food and real life friend meet ups.”...

When I found out that the State Cup was cancelled for soccer I was really disappointed. Ever since quarantine started, I had been doing fitness to make sure I was in the best shape when the season was reopened. I had run two miles  everyday for the past three weeks and I really was starting to think that the whole lockdown thing was coming to an end. Then a day ago, I got a long message from my co...

  I decorated the wall by my bed. It seems simple but I’ve been putting it off so long even though I’ve been collecting photos to put on it, and I finally did it, which makes me happy because it’s right by my bed and no every night I go to sleep look at memories from when I could go out whenever I wanted... it gives me hope in a way. I have so much time to do all the things I’ve...

Well, when I first found out that I had to stay in the house I was pretty upset. Before all of the home orders came out I really wasn’t taking the virus that seriously. My friends and I joked that maybe we would get a week off after spring break, but we never thought the rest of the year would be cancelled. I took for granted things as simple as going to school and hanging with my friends. I’m ...

“The best part about the lockdown is that I’m able to learn at my own pace. I’m able to schedule how and when I want to work on my assignments because we have all week to finish them. But, I am feeling a bit stressed because I have two grades that I’m not happy with and I want to raise them. With online learning that is so much harder to do. Working with my teachers has been quite difficult since ...

Since it was my dad's birthday on Monday (4/13), I wanted to do something fun to celebrate! I came up with the idea [to have] a family-wide Easter egg hunt. Because the day before was Easter Sunday,and my family hadn't done any Easter egg hunting in a really long time, I thought that it would be great to just relax for a night. My sister and I were a team, and my dad and mom were a team. Each team...

The most interesting thing over this extended corona break is seeing how many episodes of The Office I can watch in a day. The hardest part of it is online school since it’s hard to focus on learning in my house and I hate how we aren’t able to see our friends like we would during regular school. Also, all sports being canceled is hard. The most fun moments for me are going out for runs. I hope ...

The best thing about quarantine is that I do not need to go to school anymore and I enjoy online learning because it allows me to plan ahead and do my work accordingly. I like how simple it is to join Zoom calls and how I am able to see my teacher and classmates from home. I have begun to sleep a lot later than usual because of YouTube and Rainbow Six Siege. A happy moment for me was when I heard ...

The hardest moment of lockdown so far has been when the wifi was not working. Luckily, I had already finished my school work at that point in time, but I was unable to play on my Xbox and I had nothing else to do. I eventually played soccer in my basement. But I miss seeing my friends and I surprisingly miss learning in a classroom. I find that I don’t learn as well when I am doing online school....

It was really interesting to do Passover without extended family. It was different with everything secluded and we did more of the book than normal. The hardest moment has been trying to figure out what I am going to do with free time. On the other hand, it has been fun to have all that free time. I have been cooking a lot more than usual and for the most part, it has actually turned out well! I a...

I’m worried for my grandparents for sure, I’m worried about everyone’s health. Luckily, I’m in Florida with my grandparents right now. My family has been in Florida since spring break. The amount of people in Fort Myers now is significantly less than Ladue, so I feel pretty safe. I miss all of my pets and my bed but we plan on staying until we feel it’s safe to go home. ...

"The best part about lockdown is that we have plenty of time to do the things we want to do and discover new things like cooking and things like that. In my opinion I love that I can get up when I want and basically I can do what I want to do without worries if I have done all my homework. We have gotten to do some fun assignments for school too. For chemistry, we got to cook, so I made an egg burr...

"I do not get to see my friends at school, so that's been the toughest part. I can talk to them online but it is not the same as in person. It is very different not seeing them like I am used to. Hopefully, we are getting closer to the end of this lockdown, and I will be able to return to my normal life. Right now, it's all about waiting and being patient for the spread to slow down."

The hardest moment of lockdown has just been the overall realization that I can’t go see my friends, or leave my house. The fact that the virus also just doesn’t have an end date is also hard because it’s hard to know when I’ll ever be able to go back to normalcy. But, I’ve been able to talk to people whose schedules don’t usually match up with mine. Before coronavirus, I talked to my cam...

I can't see any of my friends which is really sad. I also miss being able to play tennis, and even all of the training for it like conditioning and running, which is a big part of my life. I haven't played in two weeks, which doesn't sound like a lot, but it's a lot for me. I run like 3 miles everyday and do a workout every once in awhile. I also sometimes go through sprints with my brother. It's not...

Since quarantine started, I've started taking some classes online to keep myself occupied. I'm taking a social psychology course, a cinematography class, and a persuasive writing and public speaking course. My favorite class is social psychology because I find the concepts interesting and applicable to the real world, and the instructor has a great sense of humor. These courses are more flexible and...

I was not exactly afraid about getting the virus, but more afraid of my parent's safety. As you probably know, there has been a rise of racist attacks on Asian-Americans since the start of the pandemic. My mom was yelled at by a customer and was called derogatory terms. My dad was not given any work to do, since he works at a company (We assume it was racially biased). I felt really helpless and angry...

My friend, Shriya Koneru, and I created a website called https://www.emailsofempathy.com where the community can send an email to people working on the frontlines during the pandemic. Healthcare workers, grocery store workers, firefighters, EMTs, food service people, and others can receive emails of appreciation and empathy. This is an important project for us and we hope to spread positivity and tha...

The hardest moments of the lock down are when my brain is split between supporting my family and supporting my students. I have a 3 month old, a 3 year old, and a 5 year old in Kindergarten. My days are filled teaching them and tending to their needs, leaving me to be a night hawk teacher from 8pm to midnight most nights. That is not an ideal scenario for anyone, but my students especially.  It is...

I think the hardest moment of lockdown for me is lack of human interaction because I am just with the same few people everyday and you get tired of your family every once in a while. I hate school, so not going to school during this lockdown has helped my sleep schedule a lot and reduces a lot of stress for me, so that is the best part about lockdown. I have been playing basketball in my free time. My ...

I would say just having to change my everyday routine and schedule to be completely at my house has been pretty hard. There have been a few times that I have just broken down in frustration about not getting the second semester of my junior year that I anticipated. Also, I am missing out on a few opportunities throughout these next few months and summer because of the impact of COVID. I think I’ve...

Well a few weeks ago, on the day that prom was supposed to be, me and my friends put on our prom dresses and we all did a zoom call. I think that was just kind of sad because you know that's an event and moment that we won't really get back, and you kind of look forward to that all High School. I'm also upset about graduation. I mean they say we might have a graduation, but I don't think that's gonna ...

I have become close with people I haven’t talked to since the summer. We all do Zoom calls every night together, and I think it’s interesting that I haven’t been close with them until now! The hardest thing for me is keeping myself entertained because when I’m not doing school, I get bored easily. I have found myself watching too much Grey’s Anatomy! On the brighter side, I have gotten closer ...

I'm really afraid that I might pass corona to my parents. My parents and Mike, my mom's boyfriend, are all over 50, so they have an increased risk of getting the virus, which really scares me sometimes. I'm not really concerned about myself or Ovya because we are young, but if I gave it to one of my parents, I would never forgive myself. Also, we live in two houses, so going between houses every f...