When I started my senior year, I thought it was going to be the best year of my life. The year where I didn't have loads of homework and AP classes, the year where I would have the freedom of feeling like an adult. The year I would get to walk across a stage and celebrate all of the hard work I'd done throughout High school with my family and friends. I had a lot of expectations for my senior year but facing a world pandemic was definitely not one of them. Now that I've been stuck inside of my house during a time where I was supposed to be celebrating my last year of High School, it has caused me to reflect a lot on what really matters. Yes, prom would've been really fun with my friends or my choir spring show, but what is really important?

When quartine started, I saw it as something that was going to destroy my year. How in the world would I have fun just sitting in my house all day? Most importantly how was I going to not go crazy being around four family members 24/7? But I slowly realized this was a blessing in disguise, quarantine has given all of us the opportunity to take a pause in our stressful busy lives and focus on what is important. It has given me the opportunity to make so many moments and memories with my family, that I would not have gotten otherwise. Like watching Desperate Housewives with my little sister every night till three in the morning, playing family board games, and getting to be around my dog 24/7 what's better than that. Don't get me wrong there are moments where my family is driving me crazy and I just want to go out and not be forced to load the dishwasher or deal with my mom waking me up at 9 AM for no reason. But I wouldn't take back this time with my family for anything, it has made me appreciate a simple night at home. It has given me the time I needed with my family before I go venturing out on my own for the first time in my life.

Quarantine has also made me really appreciate all of the fun times I've had with my friends, and how much I'm going to miss them when I go to college next year. I'm going to miss seeing my friends in the hallways and going on so many adventures with them. I've made so many memories with my group of friends that I will never forget. Quarantine has made my friends and me very creative about how to still spend quality time together. We've had picnics in the park (being 6 feet apart of course), and we've house partied a million times.

Overall, this was definitely not the way I thought I would be spending the end of my senior year but one day I will be able to tell the story of how my whole state had to be quarantined because of COVID-19. I will remember all of the quality time I spent with my friends and family. And I won't take being healthy and being able to go out for granted again.