As the 2019-2020 school year comes to a close this week, members of the junior class found the year to be full of ups-and-downs.

Since schools had to switch to virtual learning, students had to do school all alone with no social interaction. Hannah Miller said, “The Coronavirus outbreak stopped me from seeing friends and teachers that were a staple in my everyday life. While I thought this break would be fun, it has been anything but.”

Junior Jaiden Varanese thought virtual learning harmed her social life and academic learning. She said, “I got good grades but I didn’t necessarily see the academic success I was looking for. I look to improve next year. Although I did meet new friends to bettered myself, it still wasn’t my best year of high school because I missed out on so many opportunities I should have had as a junior.”

Many students were frustrated that they could not see their friends and have a healthy social life. Varanese said, “The Coronavirus break did help my grades but it did not help my social life by any means. As much as I wanted a break from school I didn’t want it to come this way.”

Although the school year was cut short for many students, Miller was more disappointed that she missed out on the spring portion of the school year. She said, “It was a fun year for me. Although I did not get to experience the whole year, I missed out on the spring.  I loved my experiences during football training, as well as seeing myself grow throughout the year.”

While many local businesses closed, part-time employees lost jobs and received pay cuts. Fowler was affected by this and said, “Although the break we’ve had from school has affected me in many ways, it has been nice not learning. But not being able to see my friends at school, and losing money due to a lack of business at my job has been devastating.”

As for extracurricular activities, sports, clubs, and more have not been allowed to be in session, students have missed out on the fun end of year activities. Fowler said, “Another thing that Coronavirus has messed up for me was [my club] YoungLife. Not seeing people I considered family every week, especially our leaders who are moving this year, has been really tough for me. I hope we get back on track soon before it’s too late.”

While these times can be tough for many, Fowler has a great outlook on the future and coming back to school in the fall. Fowler said, “Junior year really flew by for me. I made a lot of friends through this time and it feels like just yesterday we were in school. I’ve seen myself progress throughout the year in many ways and hope for my senior year we can get back to normal.”