Ah, fourth quarter. Everyone is antsy and waiting for school to get out so we can live stress free and forget about classes during the summer. Sadly and unexpectedly, though, fourth quarter did not come to us this year, at least not how we expected it.

I’ve always considered myself to be a hard worker and almost never turn in any assignments late, but quarantine has definitely made it a lot harder to keep up with everything. The stress of the Corona virus mixed with a history of bad mental health hasn’t been a good concoction either. Finding motivation to do schoolwork, or just anything in general, has been so unbelievably difficult and I know I’m not alone in feeling this way. I constantly feel overwhelmed by the stress of all of the emails and text notifications I’m bombarded with twenty four seven and it’s so frustrating knowing that I’m trying so hard to do my best not to drown in the pool of assignments being thrown at me constantly. I don’t blame the teachers for any of this, of course. I know it isn’t their fault and I know that they are just as stressed as we are. I just wish this was all more organized and I wish that we would’ve seen this coming, but this isn’t a perfect world and not everything goes according to plan. 

I surprisingly miss a lot about school, too. I miss saying hi to the teachers in the hallways during the passing periods. I miss when the last bell of the day rang and everyone hurried out of the building. I miss walking through the empty halls during class to get to the restroom, admiring the art on the walls painted by Rocky’s alumni. I miss getting to school every morning extra early so I could sit in the cafeteria and catch up with my friends. I miss the seniors and am deeply saddened that I never got to say goodbye to most of them and might never get the chance to. I missed out on my first prom and missed out on having that last day of school. The last day of saying goodbye to all of my eleventh grade teachers. But this isn’t the end. I still have senior year and I will be sure to cherish every moment of it thanks to this difficult time.

If I’ve learned anything over quarantine, it’s to be patient and to go with the flow. Keep in touch with yourself and don’t stress too much over the things that won’t matter in a few years time, we’ll all get closure eventually.