Tristan Endlich sat alone on his bed with a lot on his mind. He wondered when or if he’ll ever see his friends again. He felt alone, figuratively and mentally, and he was miserable and depressed. “How long will this last?”, he thought to himself. He was tired of this and just wanted everything to go back to normal.  

Students and teachers much like Tristan Endlich have been struggling mentally during these times of the pandemic and quarantine. Though people may say that there’s no way you can get depressed while in quarantine, according to medical studies done by the CDC, symptoms of anxiety disorder and depressive disorder increased considerably in the United States during April–June of 2020, compared with the same period in 2019.  

“Over these past nine months, it’s gotten worse for me as I thought it would’ve been over by the time my junior year rolled around.”  Junior Tristan Endlich said. “Being stuck in a house with my family has gotten annoying and monotonous. I just wish I could turn back the time and go back to when times were simpler.”  

Students aren’t the only group being negatively affected by the lockdown. Teachers are also having a hard time with having to do the new semester virtually. 

“It’s been hard for me and my family and I’m sure that my students are also having a really hard time.”  A teacher, Norma Ortiz, said. “There’s been some personal tragedies in my life that were directly caused by the pandemic and I just pray that when this is all over, I can finally go out and not be scared to get sick.” Ortiz tearfully said. 

And the school district still wants to resume normal sports activities with safety precautions of course. They cite that they want to keep the students active. 

“Kids at this age are gaining weight due to having nothing to do and are just eating all the time.” Coach Jacob Heidenreich said. “The kids need to be in sports and participate in physical activities to eliminate that factor and get in shape again. Being Physically active will also better their mental health as they’re not stuck in their room all day staring at a screen. It also gives the kids a chance at getting out of the house and interact with other people their age.”