2020 has no doubt been a tough year for students whether you are in person or online. I started my Senior year online and as an introvert, it was for the best, but also very difficult at the same time. Last semester I would wake up about 6:30- 6:40 am and head downstairs to make a pitcher of tea and talk to my dad about what I saw on the internet or anything about rock music, like if a band was releasing new music or doing a virtual reunion concert. After the tea is made, I would pour it into my favorite cup or mug, and head back into my room to get ready to turn on my laptop to begin my wait for the Zoom meetings to start. 

Being an online student was easy for me to finish my assignments faster and I was able to listen to my music without having the constant fear of thinking my headphones are somehow not connected and people won’t have to worry about me listening to my favorite bands like Pantera, Joy Division or Alice in Chains and decide whether or not I need to go to therapy. Another thing I would do sometimes is to either draw or make collages in one of my sketchbooks or spend the rest of the time reading books. 

One thing that I like about teachers this year no matter if you are online or in person, they are more flexible with turning in assignments. They would either set the turn-in date for the weekend or have it been due at 11:59 pm. Teachers are also flexible with you if you are online and are late to a class because of technical issues; they are more than happy to send you the assignments and extend the due dates if you message them telling them why you weren’t in class. During the transitions of classes, I would finish assignments sometimes if I didn’t finish them during the classes and sometimes I would text my in-person friends to ask them how their day is going or if they have seen anything crazy while walking the hallways. During lunch, I would either heat something or take the car to get food from the nearest fast-food restaurant for me and my Dad. I even go to Starbucks for coffee because drinking tea on a daily gets boring after a while. 

Now, becoming in person for school is very different than what I was expecting it to be. I have to wake up earlier around 5:50-6:00 am and get ready and make sure I have my district laptop ready to go and make sure it’s fully charged. I also rush to make my lunch before I head out the door to drive to school. Traffic isn’t mainly bad in the mornings and it would take about 20-30 minutes for me to get to school. The only struggle is that sometimes you would have to wait a bit to get into your parking space because either other cars are parking or students are walking towards the building. One of the biggest issues I have with being online is that when I walk in the hallways to get to class, I see students either not wearing a mask or wearing their mask below their nose (which defeats the purpose of wearing one in the first place).  it gives me huge anxiety and I try my best to avoid being around those people because I have been a health-conscious person since the start of the pandemic. 

Out of all my classes, being an in-person student for choir is my favorite. It’s easier to sing in person with a group because you are more in tune and on key singing. I also enjoy helping my directors pass out papers or even joke with them. In my other classes, I like being in person because if I need help with a certain assignment or need to ask a question, the teacher is right there to help me and my question is answered right away. When I was online, it was very hard for teachers to see your questions so they would have to answer them after class and I would’ve already googled the answers by then. 

Eating lunch at school is probably my least favorite thing and it’s because a majority of my friends are either at home or have a different lunch than me, so it’s just not the same texting them all of the time. It’s also tough to talk to someone at a lunch table because every chair is socially distanced, so it becomes hard to hear what the other person is saying from being every other chair away. Something I do like about lunch is that the assistant principals will release different sections of the cafeteria to go buy school lunch. Not only is it easier for people to socially distance themselves, but it is also easier to space out because you don’t have to try to figure which line people are in. Students used to stand in clusters to buy lunch with their friends. 

After I finish my food, I would put my mask back on and read a book while waiting for the bell to ring to go to journalism. Overall, I could go with or without being online or in person. It depends on whether or not a person is an extrovert or introverted and what their preferred way of learning is. For me, I work better on my own, but I like having easy access to communicate with my teacher or other students for any help when I am in person.  As a senior, this helps me decide whether or not I want to do college classes online or in-person next school year. This also helps me not feel like I missed out on my senior year and high school memories as well whether it’s memories of me being online or in person.

By: Kat Hamilton