On Friday, March 13th, my two best friends and I were sitting in a booth at Lucille’s Smokehouse BBQ when we received an email from the district that school will be closed until the end of March. We were shocked. Although we knew it was coming, it felt surreal. We did not know how to act.

SO many questions arose in my head. What about dance? Is school going to be online now? Will I still be able to see my friends? How do the seniors feel about this?

Within the next week, every event I was looking forward to was either postponed or canceled. I was getting ready to compete at state and nationals with the dance team. I was looking forward to going to a Jonas Brothers concert in Las Vegas with my best friends over spring break. I was excited to perform at our school’s version of Dancing with the Stars and in the dance team’s Spring Show. Eventually, school was canceled for the rest of the academic year. It was honestly a devastating time for everyone.

For the most part, everything was closed, and by everything I mean movie theaters and other indoor entertainment places, gyms, personal grooming services, indoor public amusement places, and restaurants. Some restaurants offered delivery and take-out services. The only places open were the essentials: grocery stores, hospitals, pharmacies, etc.

In my neighborhood, I definitely saw more people running, walking, biking, and playing outside. I also saw more cars parked on the streets. Something interesting that I noted was the street sweeping service. Normally, all cars would have to be moved off of the street so that street sweeping would be easier. Everyone who didn’t move their car received a ticket. However, since more people were staying home, the street sweeping truck went around the cars and did not ticket people.

In the mornings, people lined up outside of stores like Costco, Target, Walmart, and grocery stores. Things that were high in demand included hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, eggs, flour, paper towels, and toilet paper. People went crazy over toilet paper, which is understandable to an extent. A single-family household really does not need 10 packs of toilet paper but people were buying a couple packs a day. Soon enough, stores began limiting how many products a family can buy.

I missed my best friends so much. Before the pandemic, we went to lunch once or twice a week and had sleepovers almost every Friday. We watched a lot of movies together and went out often. With the pandemic, the only thing that we could do is get coffee together. However, we had to meet there since we couldn’t really be in the same car, which isn’t as fun as going together. I didn’t realize how much I took for granted until social distancing laws were put in place.

Initially, it was difficult to stay positive, but I kept reminding myself that the quarantine is not going to last forever and that it is necessary for protecting the health of many. I also looked at this situation as a break from life. I didn’t have to go to school and dance practice. I didn’t have to study for any tests. I didn’t have to do anything, really. I realized that I needed this.

I made use of my abundance of free time. I began writing in a journal and updating it with news about the pandemic because come to think of it, we are making history. Future generations are going to be learning about this. I also tried out different cooking and baking recipes. Tacos, Vietnamese-style fried rice, chicken Carbonara, chocolate chip cookies, Key Lime Pie…you name it. Furthermore, I cleaned, painted, exercised, reached out to others, and most importantly, spent time with my family.

When things were “normal,” I lived a repetitive, busy life. School, dance, homework, and studying took up most of my time. I was in my own world and hardly spent time with my family. During this quarantine, my family and I played board games, watched movies, and ate dinner together (which used to be rare!). I learned a lot about them and have grown to appreciate them more. After this is all over, I am definitely going to make spending time with my family more of a priority, no matter how busy I am.

If I were to somehow make an announcement to the world, I would tell everyone listening that they are not alone and to stay safe. This situation is temporary and the world will get through this together.

-Kylie