Growing up, I always wondered about how cool it would be to not have to go to school. Now that the outbreak of COVID-19 has actually taken school away for me and other students around the world I can’t help but miss going to school and seeing my friends and my professors.

Fortunately, the transition to online classes has gone pretty smoothly for me. I’m lucky to be blessed with the resources I need to do online classes from home. But, I can’t help but think of those who don’t have the resources available in order to make this transition go as smoothly as possible.

This unusual situation has put students in the situation of not being able to finish their classes for the semester, and that is not fair to the hard work, dedication, and money these students have put towards receiving their diploma in a timely manner.

I’ve been following different news sources over the COVID-19 updates and it looks like this quarantine could go on longer than expected. Because of this quarantine, I’ve not been able to see many family members such as my sister, niece, and nephew. That has been the hardest part of this situation.

Our society is lucky, though, to have the resources that we do to still talk to our friends and family. For example, my dad’s birthday was this past week and my sister, niece, and nephew all Facetimed him and sang happy birthday to him with us and got to watch him blow out his candles.

In addition, I would say that a lot of positive things have come out of all of this for me. For example, it has brought me closer to my family and has made me realize how much I love them and my friends. It has also brought me closer to God. In times like this, it is always a good time to pray for the health of those around us. I would say one thing that I’m looking forward to after all of this is over is to go out to eat with my friends and just be able to hug them as well.

Another thing that I’m looking forward to is being able to go and visit my niece and nephew. They mean so much to me and it is so hard to not be able to go see them.

In addition, another thing that I will be happy to get back to after this quarantine is over is to go watch a softball game. I was devastated to hear that the softball and baseball seasons were cancelled.

One silver lining that has come from this unusual time is that we can depend on each other in order to get things back to normal. For example, those who are going into this virus head on every day (nurses, doctors, essential workers, etc.) in order to save those who have been infected by this virus. Even in times of devastation, if we all stand together (6 feet apart, of course) we can overcome anything that comes our way. I hope that everybody stays healthy and well.

Editor’s note: This is a column in a series written by students at The Trailblazer. We feel it is important to share firsthand accounts of this unprecedented time in history.