It’s Just High School – You’re Not Alone

When quarantine first hit, I was completely lost and taken aback. I had always been a good student, but suddenly I hardly understood what we were learning. Teachers just gave assignments, I felt like I couldn’t reach out, and the walls were closing in. It was a nightmare. 

Whether it was out of comfort or out of habit, I began reaching out to friends and acquaintances I missed. I checked in on them, asked them how they were REALLY doing, and the responses weren’t great. I needed someone to reach out to me, but checking in on other people was good enough. 

At that moment, checking in proved to be more helpful than I could have imagined. Seeing so many people in the same place as I was helped remove the burden that I was alone and that I simply wasn’t good enough. 

Reach out to those who care about you. I promise there are people out there who would be thrilled to hear from you and are willing to be a listening ear. They may be going through the same thing, and you’ll be helping them more than you realize. 

I know being vulnerable is hard. My palms start to sweat when I have to tell even my closest friends about a tough situation. I fear that they will view me differently or see me as weak. This is something I still struggle with, but the more you have hard conversations, the easier it gets. 

Spend time with your loved ones. They should always be there for you, even when friends come and go. Just taking time out of your day to eat dinner as a family or ask your sister how her day was can help you feel less alone. If a family dinner isn’t possible, you could Zoom a friend or loved one who lives far away. 

Find comfort in other things. Perhaps reading calms you down or maybe going for a short walk around your neighborhood, roughly twenty minutes, will do the trick. Even when it’s cold, a breath of fresh air will leave you more relaxed. Doing something that will briefly take your mind off of the future can help you feel less alone. 

My mom and I go on walks together around lunch time when I have my at-home hybrid days. This provides a break in the day and gives structure to the pile of work looming in the morning. 

At the end of the day, there isn’t a way to plan for what’s going to happen. Yes, we turned a calendar year, but there still isn’t an end in sight in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic. Planning for even a week in advance is tough right now. And while it may feel isolating and stressful, it’s okay not to know what you want to do in the future, whether that be a month from now or five years from now. 

Take it one day at a time and remember, it’s just high school.