This is not how I pictured my senior year to look like. 

   Wake up, log onto Google classroom, complete four classes, and stay inside. 

   Although waking up at 7:45 AM and only having to turn on my iPad with no preparation and beginning class has been nice, I miss being in an actual classroom. I miss looking at an actual chalkboard rather than a black screen.

   It seems like very quickly coronavirus has occupied everyone’s minds. The aisles of ACME and Target are left empty shortly after opening each day. Roads have been less full than usual, as most are working from home.

   Initially when I heard school would be closed for two weeks, I thought it would be like an early spring break. I’d get to hangout with my friends and have loads of freedom. That hasn’t been the case.

   Now I find myself missing even the most unexpected things, like gym class. It’s nice not having to change into my uniform everyday, but anything beats having to watch YouTube videos on different badminton techniques. 

   I especially miss my pottery class, the thought of my unfinished projects sitting in the classroom is so frustrating. I’d rather be working with the actual material then watching it from my iPad.

   Instead, I’ve been stuck inside and it seems with each day a new headline surrounding COVID-19 is released to the public. Despite information constantly being reported, there is so much left to the unknown for the country. 

    For some people, the cancellations of sports like March Madness, and the postponement of the MLB seem to be the biggest issues. My biggest focus seems to be my fear of missing out on my final year of highschool.

   As a senior, of course I have a sense of disappointment. I wonder whether I will still get to go to prom, or a senior trip. With Disney scheduled to open on April 1st there is some hope, but their date of reopen could be tentative. On top of that all around me I hear of different schools canceling or postponing their trips.

    There are many aspects of senior year that I feel like I might be missing out on  but at least I can say I didn’t have a typical final year of highschool. Instead of doing my work on paper and in class, I completed my work behind a screen in my bed.

   Part of me feels a bit selfish. My biggest worries revolve around whether I get to go to Florida for a few days whereas it should be focused on the wellbeing of the country.

    After completing three years of highschool, everyone looks forward to their senior year. Once college applications are sent out, the stress that revolves around school seems to fade. 

   Yet with remote schooling, I have felt more overwhelmed with work than ever. Not because there is a lot of it but because it’s hard to keep track of what is due.

   It seems that each time I look at my iPad another notification lights up the screen with another assignment. My Google Classroom is flooded with schedules and questions from other students.

      I can complain that some of the schoolwork being assigned during this remote schooling feels a bit repetitive, but it’s brand new to everyone. No one expected for schools to be closed. No one knows what the virus will look like in two weeks.  Everything still seems very unsure. 

   Although I’d much rather be learning in a classroom, for now I’ll have to continue to log on to my classes each day and stay indoors. Hopefully I’ll be back in the hallways of Eastern in two weeks, no longer learning behind a black screen.