Student Reflection

Hi, my name is Kamarra Cephas-Bey. I go to Penn Wood High School and am in 10th grade. I'll tell you about my school years from ninth grade to now. Being online in ninth grade was difficult because I'm the type of student who likes to be in front of their teachers to learn better. Also, online school is great because you can avoid having fewer distractions. 

After ninth grade, we started going back to school in person. It was good for me but also challenging because we had to wear masks. Being in school, people will pick on you for no reason, which can take a turn on your focus on learning. Being in school right now is okay, but everything happening is crazy. Before this pandemic, everyone in the world was different people were excited to go places, and they did everything they wanted. 

When the pandemic hit, everything changed—people were mad that they had to stay home, and they were upset that the world was shut down. For two years, we had to go by the same rules and wear masks everywhere we went. You had to show people that you received your vaccination for covid. If you did not have it, you could not go to places you wanted. Some people, through financial difficulties, could not find a job; some were getting laid off. We went through a lot this year.

I sometimes see on the news that people were getting angry about the masks that they tore up the world, people were broking builds, and people were using George Floyd's death so they would not have to wear the masks. Some people falsely claim to have a disorder or a sickness to get out of wearing their masks. However, some people actually have a disorder or sickness, wearing masks, and don't complain about wearing them. 

The pandemic was wild for everyone. We were not allowed to do everything and go everywhere. Yet, this can teach us a lesson. Some things that happened during the pandemic were good—if you made them sound good. Many things, however, were terrible. People hurt each other and start problems for no reason. Some also had financial problems. However, if we had made it better for us and everyone around us, it would have been better. Sometimes things do not change. At the end of all of this, I hope we can go back to what we had before—going places, having fun, being happy, and not hurting each other anymore. Mostly, letting kids be happy when they are in school instead of not feeling safe. Kids want to go back to school, but we want to feel safe and not scared.