How two weeks of lockdown turned into one and a half years

(pictured above: reporter – Camila De La Fuente)

The Covid-19 pandemic really took a toll on students. Covid began at the end of 2019 and became this big outbreak that led everyone to social distance, which meant no school, no groups, and mostly everything closing. To think students thought they only had two weeks off for school, and next thing you know, two weeks ended up turning into one and a half years. It began March 14, 2020 and was government mandated lock down.

“Fall semester became very hard for me because I had to adjust my schedule with work and school,” said Brandon, a second year student at VVC. “I couldn’t seem to get comfortable with the online transition, and my grades slowly started to drop which took a big toll on my mental health. I became very unmotivated to even slightly try and became very depressed about it. I took five classes and only passed two.” 

Many teachers did not understand that online transitioning was a big change for many students and did not consider how it could affect their mental health. Working from home can be very unmotivating especially when they already had their schedules and had to try and adjust it when the world wide pandemic hit. Many students like working in a face to face environment and working from home can be unmotivating.

“I already experienced online classes before actually having to transfer to an online world,” said Mia, a second year student at Cal-State San Bernardino. “I was doing well in my classes and didn’t really have any problems. The only thing that was hard for me was to make my schedule for school and job work because they clashed so I would multitask. It was hard on me mentally because I never was able to find time for myself and relax. After all, I was always busy. I am used to being around friends and loved ones, so I didn’t like being alone, which really made me feel like I had no one and became super depressed just being locked in my room; it felt like a jail cell.”

Having to multitask with school and work can take the whole day and not being able to fully pay attention to class and then wondering what you are missing. Never being able to take time to mentally recharge can be exhausting especially if they are constantly busy. Not being able to spend time with loved ones makes it hard especially being alone can be depressing.

 “School got a little harder for me because I like to interact in person with my teachers and I can focus more,” said Joanna, a second year student at VVC . “Being online made it harder for me to concentrate because I have a full house, but I still had decent grades. Mentally it wasn’t that bad because I could see some friends but not a big group.”

Overall many students haven’t had good experiences with the transition to an online world because being in person gives them that motivation to get up and go to school. Not being able to have quiet time to concentrate on school work is difficult because it can affect grades. 

Grades and mental health went down hill. Some students suffered more than other students. Personally, the lockdowns and restrictions didn’t affect my mental health because I have experienced working online. From my own experience, school wasn’t the hard part. Everything being closed and not being able to hang out with friends was a struggle because I hate being alone. I also had become jobless due to the pandemic, and it was very hard to look for another. Although I wasn’t affected very much, I understand mental health is very important, even more than school to me. 

Without having a break and time to yourself can really take a big toll on many students. Mental health should be taken more seriously. Although school is essential, health should be the main priority even to be successful with education. I really salute everyone for being able to push through everything because it is very hard. To think we were excited to have two weeks off, and now most dread having to go on Zoom to sit for hours.