Staying Connected During COVID-19

When reading about the Plague or Black Death, just five months ago in world studies, I never thought that I too would be living through a worldwide pandemic killing thousands of people. As a high school student who just turned 16, things are pretty sad. This will be my first summer having my license. All the fun things that my friends and I talked about doing this summer like going to beaches, the Minnesota State Fair, shopping at outlet malls, and just going to restaurants and places together are all pretty much ruined.

I have a part-time job at Ace Hardware, which is still open. I feel that by working there still I am serving my community. I try my very hardest to ensure that I clean and wipe things down as much as possible between customers so that the next customer in line feels safe. Very often people thank us for staying open and compliment us on our hard work. Since everyone is stuck at home they find so many projects to do, and with all this beautiful weather everyone is doing lawn work, so we are extremely busy. With all the people I see on a busy Saturday shift, I do worry about what I am taking home to my family. I think I could make it through the coronavirus but I'm not so sure about the rest of my family, which is very scary.

I miss my grandparents so much. You really start to realize the people you sometimes take for granted when you never get to see them anymore. You start to realize the huge part they have in your life and how much they do for you when you no longer get to see them. Not only my grandparents do I miss but my friends as well. I miss having sleepovers and laughing so hard that we cry, staying up all night doing stupid things and making silly dances. We sometimes meet in parking lots and sit in our own cars (six feet apart, of course), but it's just not the same and I can't wait for things to be back to normal.

As teenagers I think we are all pretty much doing the same thing. Sleeping, doing school work, eating (a lot), and sitting on our phones. But also a lot of us are taking this time to grow as people, at least I am. I am spending so much time outside, biking, running, fishing, going on walks, and laying in my hammock. I am also bonding with my family a lot more. We do things outside together, make projects, cook, and clean. My trap season is cancelled, my dance season is postponed, and my golf season is cancelled. This is really sad and hard because those were ways I created bonds with certain people and I just really loved doing all of those things.

This is just all crazy. No one saw this coming and it's affecting everyone in certain ways. I just never thought this would happen in this day and age, but I guess anything is possible. I hope we can all do our part to make this go away. It's not going to be easy but luckily we have found ways to stay connected during COVID-19.

—Isabel

Share your own story here. Sharing stories is a powerful way to connect with other people. Be part of the Teen Health & Wellness Personal Story Project—like Isabel did above—and share your story about successfully dealing with or overcoming a challenge.