I’m trying to think of a way to start this blog post off maturely, but it’s difficult when you feel as if the government isn’t listening to you. I should be in school right now, but our governor declared a state of emergency, and shut down all K-12 schools for two weeks. Looking at our county, we could be looking at a month of online school, and returning after spring break, or possibly never.
Coming from someone who overreacts a lot, this situation is a recipe for disaster. I have tried to keep myself busy over these couple of days by practicing my German, binge watching Netflix shows, and spending time outside with my friends. However, the thought of never returning to school frightens me. Don’t get me wrong, I hate school, and I despise the fact over how most, if not all, students are only memorizing the information, and not actually learning the material. Hearing what top health officials say, if we don’t take action right away, this could be an ongoing condition for months.
How the administration is handling this pandemic is angering me. I don’t want our country’s health system to end up in flames like Italy’s has, yet, it looks like we’re going that way with how unprepared we are. Will this pandemic continue to last throughout the summer? Coronavirus is supposed to affect between 40-70% of the US population, which is between 160 and 240 million people. The US doesn’t even have a free healthcare system, and we’re expected to pay between 50-100 dollars for a vaccine? Sadly at the end of the day, it all comes down to money, doesn’t it? This virus has shown the true colors of our society, how careless and money hungry some of us are.
It saddens me that I won’t be able to go to Communications for a month. I know that we’ll do online school, but being surrounded with these amazing group of people has given me hope about our generation (surprisingly). Communications has not only helped me improve on my writing, but it has also provided me with a group of loving and supporting people. I know I’ll have to say goodbye eventually; I just never expected that our time would be cut short.
As my mom says, there are people in the same boat as me, and I’m taking this time to get back into writing stories. I’ll most likely be active on here, ranting about politics and social injustice, and if I’m not, then I’m taking the time to relax & let the stress from school die down while trying not to jump into conclusions as I always do.
Stay safe, and most importantly, quarantine yourself! You may have a healthy immune system, but think about the others that don’t. We all want this pandemic to go away as soon as possible, and it won’t if you decide to surround yourself with hundreds of people carelessly.
-The Political Junkie
Lily,
Thank you for your post. As usual, your writing makes me feel emotional. You have the ability to conjure up such a wide variety of feelings when I read your words. It is my hope that we are moving in the right direction. I believe that intelligent and dedicated individuals are jumping into this situation and making important decisions to protect us.
One silver lining about this strange situation is that I’ve decided our Communications family will continue even after you graduate from River Bend. We are going to stay in touch with each other through writing, videos, and visits long after the last day of school. You are correct that the students in our class are special, empowering, brilliant, and provide me with hope and inspiration each day. I’m committed to maintaining this community for many years.
Let’s all keep writing!!!!
Lily,
Your writing has always astounded me. You know that I’ve always wanted to be a writer, and coming from a writing fanatics perspective, your writing is spectacular. You spoke your mind in this post, and I felt like I was reading the work of a professional. If you ever decided in the future to write for a living, I KNOW that you’ll be a NATURAL! This post made me realize how stressful this situation is for other people and it really touched my heart, with the way you wrote and what you wrote. Not only do you speak from the heart, you go the whole way and do research and add facts in your posts, and I feel like that is truly amazing.
Sincerely, Your Favorite Pale Siamese Cat
Hey Lily,
I love how through your writing you clearly state your emotions and make your opinion come through. A lot of the time now I feel like people are afraid to share their own thoughts on the internet. You’re confident with your opinion and have a strong voice, which is something we need more of! I’m also worried about COVID-19 and how everything is going to play out. It also saddens me to know that middle school is completely over now. Communications was my favorite class too. What classes are you taking next year? I’m taking Intro into Journalism 1. I don’t know if it will beat communications, but I’m sure it’ll come close to it! Great job, Lily. Good things are coming soon! I’m sure that the U.S. will find a way to clear this up. See you next year… in high school. Eek that’s scary.
<3
Anna Claire
http://blogs.lcps.org/keepingitcoolwithac/
Hey Anna Claire!
You’re definitely right. I usually don’t think about the positive sides to issues like these, but I’m sure we’ll get through this. This pandemic has also awakened the Martha Stewart in me. Weird, but also handy.
I’m taking German and I’m also taking Intro into Journalism! I possibly want to go into that field once I’m out of high school, so I’m hoping that I’ll learn how to improve my writing even further.
Maybe we’ll even be in the same class next year? 🙂
Lily J