No one was prepared for the events that occurred in twenty-twenty. Everyone had to adjust and adapt as the world was changing before their eyes. Each experience from this year is different and because of that, each person has their own story to tell on how their mental health has been affected.

Research has shown there has been a spike in anxiety and depression. Charts have shown a great rise in symptoms of mental illnesses. The amount of people who are in fear of what will happen next is largely accounted for as well. In a study from “Mental Health in America,” their research showed that 18.17% of Americans, which is near 45 million adults are fighting with mental illnesses now. While there may be many people who aren’t affected or were affected positively, there is a great amount of people who are currently struggling.

Everyone handles challenges differently, some people may improve from a situation, while another could fall apart because of it. I’ve seen the strongest people I know deteriorate before me and it has been heartbreaking to watch. Each person is going through their own sets of challenges, on top of the universal ones we’ve already been facing. Everyone has been through highs and lows during this pandemic and I think it’s important to express my thoughts through my experiences. I am sure many can relate to feeling helpless and lost, but that’s not to forget that there were good things to come out of this year too.

When quarantine first started I do not think any of us expected it to play out like this. We were told that we would be returning to school soon but that of course was not the case. Despite finding out that this quarantine would last, I tried to make the best out of a bad situation.  I learned to appreciate casual life before quarantine, but I was grateful for the time I got to spend with my family. After school and quarantine ended in summer, seeing my friends again was uplifting relief and a needed solace.

After getting over the general shock of the pandemic, reality started to settle in. I tried to distract myself with school and new hobbies. I started to wonder when or if we would even be going back to school this year. I had so much time to think to myself, pointing out and critiquing everything I did. I felt worse by the day, the thought of accidentally infecting my family without knowing or stressing about how going back to school would affect my new everyday life was overwhelming. Coming back to school was not any easier, I looked forward to having it as a distraction again but it turned out to be harder than expected with the new teaching methods and amount of work given. The school year still feels like it just started but it is near the end of the first quarter, I can only hope it gets better from here on out.

This pandemic has drastically affected students’ lives, each of us have dealt with our own obstacles and hardships. Over these six months there have been many positive and negative affairs that will be written in history, because of these affairs, everyone has had to deal with a hardship this year. You never know what people went through or how they are truly feeling and therefore, it is important to sympathize and support each other to get through this.