Student Opinion Column: A Return to “Normal”
Launch the media gallery 1 playerBy: Makenna Held, a senior at Leigh High School
COVID-19 affected each of us differently all over the world. For weeks, months, or even nearly a year some things were shut down. The summer after the height of COVID was different from the summer during the peak of COVID.
This past summer was a lot more “normal” than the summer prior. I felt many things were back to normal. Masks weren’t worn anymore, especially in my small town. We had basketball camps, volleyball camps, weightlifting, open gyms and more sport things that we kind of missed out on in the summer before. The pools were all open, we could eat inside restaurants, we could travel more freely, all the stores were open for business, and more.
Instead of spending the summer mainly outside and at home like the summer of 2020, I spent my summer of 2021 at the pool, working at my job quite a bit, hanging out with friends, going out to eat, doing weightlifting and sport camps, going to fairs and going on vacations. I was able to travel to Orlando, Florida, this past summer. The trip was originally planned for the prior year’s summer, but COVID ruined that.
I never wore a mask the whole summer except when I was in the airport going to and home from Orlando. I didn’t see many other people wearing masks either. Since the vaccine is now prevalent, many people are going away from masks, which is nice.
I feel like this past summer was quite a bit different for myself than the summer prior. It felt more like a normal summer to me. I seized the moments while I could since COVID wasn’t really a huge concern and lots of things were back to normal. I am thankful for what the summer of 2021 brought to me, my family, and my friends. We all hope it can remain that way as we head into the winter months!