Did Covid-19 Ruin my 6th Grade Year?

Nyvaeh: 6th Grader

Last year, I was attending school dances, hanging with friends and imagining that my 6th grade year would be similar. After winter break, I thought we would come back to school, and I would be able to end my 6^th grade year strong! Covid-19 ruined the 6^th grade year for me and others. We don’t have school Monday-Friday, instead, I do most of my weekly work in one day. At first I thought being out of school was going to be fun and cool, like during winter break. Now, I have to check Google Classroom and my school email to get notification about what is going on.

This year, my teachers have made so much progress with me because I used to not like going to school this year, because the work became harder. But my teachers have been patient, and I’ve started to enjoy going because they’ve helped me understand the work better. Now, I’m tired of my video games fest. When we first left school, my school didn’t make school work mandatory. Last week, they made it mandatory so my days of playing games are over. But that’s ok, even though I don’t enjoy just working on a computer. In school, we had a lot of help from the teachers and now we can’t get all of that. I don’t like it.

I’m still adjusting but I’m learning that I don’t just want to play video games. Some things that have helped pass time has been spending time with my family. Whether it’s watching a movie, playing and learning new card games, or making up games to play, I’ve enjoyed my family time. I had to come up with a schedule to make sure I have a daily routine (my white board is called daily responsibilities), and structure (my aunts said). I wish I could end my 6^th grade year with school dances and hanging with friends, but this will always be a part of my memory. Hopefully 7^th grade year will go back to school dances, hanging with friends, and being in person with our teachers teaching us.

 I hope that you and your family are able to stay safe during this time!