Listen, I get it. You’re stuck inside due to these “unprecedented” times. You’re bored. You want to see your friends. You want to hang out with them, you want to run through the streets in the middle of the night and dance in the orange streetlights with them. You want to climb onto your roof with them. You want to try graffiti with them. You want to walk on the railroad tracks with them. You want to be away from your parents with them. You want to be a teenager. Have I said enough yet? You want to have the summer that those coming of age movies all hyped up. But now is not the time. Seriously.

As sad as it is to say, we all have to stay away from each other. Go ahead and do those teenager things by yourself, because we have these restrictions for a reason. One of the phrases that I’ve heard throughout this quarantine the most happens to come from the people who aren’t following it, and that phrase is, “I’m not putting anyone in danger, I’m just with a few friends.” The truth is that (as disappointing as it may seem) you’re wrong. That’s the thick and thin of it. By going out with your friends you are still not only putting yourselves in danger, but everyone else in danger. The scientific community still doesn’t know how COVID-19 is spread, and still don’t know how long the virus stays on surfaces. Just. Stay. Home.

Now, I’m not some adult that is trying to spread lies about the virus to ruin teenagers’ summers, I’m the same age as many people who are reading this article. I’m 18. I want to be with my friends just as much as anyone else. I want to enjoy my time in my hometown before I go to college and possibly not see some of my friends ever again. I already regret not saying goodbye to some of them from my “last day” of school. I want to have the carefree summer that I’ve always been dreaming of, but I realize that now is not the time for it. Now is not the time for my friends and I to be with each other, and it shouldn’t be for anyone else at this time. Going out with your friends potentially puts human lives at risk, including your own. I’m not ready to take that risk.