On March 13, 2020, it was announced that school would be postponed until April 6 due to the coronavirus outbreak. Two years later, our world is drastically different. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a constantly changing situation, leaving people confused and frustrated with how they should react to it.
Here is a collection of text messages from the Naperville North community at different stages of the pandemic that capture parts of the roller coaster of emotions we all experienced in the past two years.
*Text messages have been censored and edited for privacy and clarity
2020
March 13, 2020
This was the day that students found out school was temporarily canceled due to COVID-19. Originally, students celebrated the “extended spring break,” but it turned out to be much longer. The response to this text also makes it clear that no one expected the need for social distancing that would soon dictate many of our decisions.
March 20, 2020
This was right at the beginning of the pandemic when it was becoming clearer that certain events would not be happening. These messages show the initial sadness that many faced as these activities were canceled, but also that people were optimistic that the pandemic would not last very long.
June 18, 2020
This exchange was during the first summer of the pandemic. During this time, vaccines were still unavailable, but COVID-19 cases were going down as people spent more time outside. This meant that restaurants were starting to reopen and restrictions were lessening for the first time since early March, which prompted many Americans to assess the risks of returning to normal activities.
Dec. 17, 2020
Before vaccines were widely available, it was a complicated process to tell everyone that you have been around that they have potentially been exposed to the virus. Here is an example of a known COVID-19 exposure and the awkward text message that comes with it. This was also right before the holidays, which made COVID-19 testing harder to access because many people wanted reassurance before getting together with family.
2021
April 14, 2021
This is an example of a high school spring sport getting temporarily shut down. It was shortly after spring break, so there were many COVID-19 cases. At the time, students who were within six feet of any student who tested positive for COVID-19 for 15 minutes or more had to quarantine. Because of this, many sports were shut down due to athletes testing positive or being contact-traced.
April 18, 2021
This exchange happened when COVID-19 vaccines were becoming more available to the public. The shots were first available for healthcare workers, essential workers and high-risk individuals. They then became increasingly available to anyone, including students over the age of 16, starting at the end of March through April.
Oct. 13, 2021
This was at the beginning of the school year when students were starting to feel the effects of the previous online school year. These messages talk about how standardized test scores are lower and how many colleges still did not require applicants to send test scores. After a year of Zoom and a block schedule, it also touches on the difficulties of specific classes, like math classes, for some students.
2022
Jan. 6, 2022 and Feb. 14, 2022
These messages from NNHS principal, Stephanie Posey, show the rapid change in case levels this semester. When second semester first started, the Omicron surge was still prevalent and masking was an absolute necessity in order to stay in school. Just over a month later, masking became optional in schools.
On the two-year anniversary since it was announced that school would be canceled, the current pandemic situation is drastically different. Now, masks are optional in schools, and many activities are almost completely back to normal. With COVID-19 cases constantly spiking and falling, many are hopeful that this is the true conclusion of the pandemic.
Credits:
Created with an image by Filmbetrachter - "text write sms smartphone"