Emmy talks to teenagers about life. This episode focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 virus on teenagers.
www.sacred-truths.com
Emmy talks to teenagers about life. This episode focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 virus on teenagers.
www.sacred-truths.com
Emmy: This is Sacred Truths with Emmy Graham. Welcome to Teen Talk where I talk to teenagers about Life. Teen Talk: Episode 1. Covid-19.
Hello! And welcome to Teen Talk. I’m Emmy Graham, and I’m very happy today to have two high school students with me today.
One is named Aurora. Hi, Aurora!
Aurora: Hello!
Emmy: And the other is Simone.
Simone: Hi, thank you.
Emmy: Welcome to both of you and thanks for being here today. Today, we’re going to talk a little bit about Corona virus and how it’s effecting your lives as high school students really, and just for a brief summary, we were on lockdown in mid-March here in Southern Oregon. You both went on Spring Break and it was lengthened to two weeks, I believe, and then after Spring Break you went back to school but online school. Now, we’ve gone through the summer, and now you’re back in school but it’s online school via Zoom mostly, and I’m wondering what are some things you really like to do now but can’t because of Covid-19?
Aurora: I definitely think sports and you know, after school activities and clubs. That’s kind of a bummer to miss out. I think all grades are feeling that.
Emmy: They’ve all been cancelled; you can’t do them.
Aurora: Yeah, a few are trying their best, but over Zoom it’s not the same and it’s just too hard to do sports right now.
Emmy: Yeah, that’s really hard.
Simone: Yeah, I think like, all of that, and also, just like little things, like, our high school was putting on a haunted house but that has to be modified and, you know, all the birthday parties and things, I wish we could just do them like normal.
Emmy: Yes, the Haunted House, that’s the Drama Club, right, so that means plays have been suspended as well, right?
Simone: They’re being done over Zoom, actually.
Emmy: Not quite the same. Simone: Yeah.
Emmy: Yeah. What’s something right now you’d love to do but you can’t?
Aurora: Just like hang out inside out of the smoke.
Simone: Me too, that’s what I was going to say.
Emmy: You too, Simone. Exactly, here we are in Southern Oregon and not only are we combatting Covid-19 but we have hazardous air from the wildfires that are still burning around our state and from California.
Simone, you were saying that you couldn’t even ride your bike today because of the smoke, is that right?
Simone: Yes, it came on all of a sudden today, it was pretty good for a week or so…
Emmy: So, you’re both doing online school, how do you think that’s going?
Simone: Okay, I think it’s kind of bittersweet, and there’s pros and cons…it’s alright.
Emmy: What are some things that are hard about online school?
Aurora: Definitely glitches and remembering to “unmute”. Lots of times the teachers will glitch out or other students and you can’t quite hear the instructions or the answer and so you kind of feel like you’re missing a little bit of class every time it happens and it’s hard to catch up.
Emmy: Simone?
Simone: Well, I think it’s really hard just like interacting with one other in such a like, a weird way. Because, like, in person you’d be able to get to know familiar faces and like brush against each other and “Oh! That’s you!” But that doesn’t really happen with online school, you can’t really get to know anyone.
Emmy: Yeah, so much of getting to know someone is getting to know how they walk, getting to know talking to them outside of class in the hallway just saying, “Hi!” or little things that we do throughout the day when you see someone on a daily basis and that’s all gone with online school.
Simone: Yeah, I don’t even know what most of these people look like below their, like, shoulders and half of them have their cameras off so I don’t even know that part.
Emmy: That’s really hard, hard to have a feeling of cohesiveness like you’re a class, I imagine.
Aurora: Yeah, we’re just a bunch of, a bunch of voices that are in my room. It just sounds like some, like, weird interactive, like, YouTube video or something.
Emmy: Yeah, and these could be people from anywhere and not necessarily in your town. Very hard to make new friends that way I would think and very hard to get to really know your teachers if they’re new for you.
Simone: Exactly. Yep.
Aurora: Yeah, it’s also hard to convey emotions through zoom. Or make sure your tone of voice is right and if someone says something funny, -
Simone: No one laughs because we’re all on mute.
Emmy: You’re all muted so there are no chuckles.
Aurora: Yeah. So, you don’t really know if what you said got a good response or not.
Emmy: It’s just received with silence. Yeah, and there’s no way to like, read the room, how are people feeling and responding. It must be very hard for the teachers, too. Do you feel like they get frustrated and do they misunderstand your response?
Simone: Definitely. I guess it must be hard for them just as much as it is for us. I feel like we have a lot of the same struggles now, like, interruptions in the household and all that. Often, like, they’ll be talking and then they’ll ask, “Do you guys understand?” And no one will answer and it takes a while for all of us to unmute and say ‘yes’ and then mute again.
Aurora: Because a lot of times teachers can’t see us, like, nodding our head.
Emmy: Right, right, and, it’s hard for that one kid to say, “Actually, I don’t understand.” (laughs)
Aurora: Yes, it kind of takes a lot of work and kind of bravery to say something and you feel like you’re talking to yourself and you’re not sure if, like, they’re hearing you.
Simone: It’s not like it’s really a conversation and like, no one really talks besides the teacher unless we really have to make an effort to be like, “Yes, Ma’am.”
Emmy: Or if you go into small groups, right?
Aurora: That’s normally very awkward though, because people really have to step it up and be outgoing.
Emmy: Yeah.
Simone: And sometimes you’ll be put into a break out room and the two people with you don’t have their cameras on and their mics are muted and they just don’t do anything the whole time and you sit there waiting.
If we were in person in a group, there’d be a lot more opportunities, but…
Emmy: Now, do you think they don’t want to have their mics on because they don’t want to participate. Is there a reason they don’t have their mics on?
Aurora: Well automatically, we’re all muted, so when you’re put into a breakout room so most of the time you automatically don’t have your camera on and you don’t have microphone on.
Emmy: And then you have to go in and change that and they just don’t, but you don’t know why.
Aurora: I don’t know it’s really scary to talk to other people especially since you don’t know them and you don’t know what they look like.
Emmy: Right. I would think that would be very challenging.
Aurora: Because kids just don’t want to talk to each other. Or….without choice.
Emmy: Yeah. Different when you’re in a group: face to face. What are some aspects of online school that are actually helpful? Anything better than what you used to know as school?
Simone: Well, when you’re on lunch break, you can cook, instead of having your, you know, school picnic tables or whatever, so that’s a plus, I guess.
Emmy: Right, so you get to eat whatever you want in the moment because you’re home.
Aurora: Another good thing is school starting an hour later than usual. Which is kind of nice, you get to sleep in a bit more if you like. And it actually doesn’t end that much later.
Emmy: Than the normal day.
Aurora: Yeah.
Simone: Also, the whole biking to school or walking in weather that’s too cold, or too hot or too smokey. We don’t have to do that anymore; we are just in our own homes.
Emmy: That’s true. Sometimes, the walk to school can be invigorating, get you going for the day. Do you ever find that you sometimes, you just crawl right out of bed and go right to school?
Aurora/Simone: Yeah! (laughs)
Aurora: Normally, I’m, like, half asleep. So, I guess that’s kind of a good thing and a bad thing.
Simone: Going back to the biking and walking. Normally you’d have a walk to school and the walk home and it’s a totally different area. People you wouldn’t see at home and all the different classrooms and stuff, but now you just close your computer and all of a sudden, you’re not at school anymore. It’s very weird. It’s a weird feeling.
Emmy: Yeah, there’s no separate place, there’s no sense of, “Ahhh, I’m home from school, and I get to plop in my room now.”
Simone: Exactly.
Aurora: I’ve been plopped in my room all day and I need to get outside.
Emmy: How is it having to attend online school from home, you’ve already answered this a little bit, but what are some things that come up, family might be there, other siblings, parents might be working from home. How is this for you guys?
Simone: I have two houses and at one of them, the adults in the home are on zoom also, and although we’re in different rooms, there is a lot of noise interruption, so when I have to unmute and talk, I’m usually like “Uhhhh!” and I have to speak up really loud.
Emmy: Is your internet interrupted because so many people are using zoom.
Simone: I don’t know if that’s why, but there’s definitely a lot of glitching and internet issues overall with online school.
Emmy: Aurora, what are your feelings?
Aurora: I just keep my door closed. I know a few days ago, the neighbors were actually being kind of loud, and you could hear it and it was coming in through my open window because I kept my window open for some fresh air. So, that was kind of distracting. I had to talk over them talking and it’s not like I can tell them to be quiet, because I don’t know who they are or where they are. It’s just like noise coming in.
Emmy: Yeah, right, distractions.
So much of high school is about socializing. I think. Socializing with friends, or going to the football game, going to the theater production, maybe even a high school dance, although I always dreaded them.
Other clubs, though, after school activities, theater events, band, choir. And all of a sudden you don’t have access to any of these social events.
How does it feel to not have access to this part of high school?
Simone: Definitely super weird. There are not many circumstances where people don’t get to have that. I mean, maybe sometimes they can’t go, but usually it’s happening.
So, like, all of my parents’ and my friend’s parents and my grandparents, “Oh, my Junior Prom!” And all that!
Emmy: Right, the activities still would happen whether you could go or not and that was usually the disappointment: “Oh I can’t go because I’m sick” or something happened.
Do you feel that you just want to socialize and it’s a sad thing, that you feel kind of lonely not being able to gather with people your own age?
Aurora: I kind of like having the excuse of being isolated and being by myself all the time, but it’s just annoying not having that option if I wanted to. A few times I’ll really just want to like to hang out with someone.
Or just meet the people.
Emmy: Yeah. Meet up with people at the football game even if you’re not that interested in football, for example.
Simone: Right. Socializing in general is just like, such a fundamental part of everyone’s life like, even just little things like saying “Excuse me,” to people and so many tiny interactions aren’t happening any more.
I never knew that those were such a big deal but now I’m realizing.
Emmy: Yes, like saying ‘hi’ to the cafeteria ladies every day or seeing the janitor or whatever it might be. Or even just supporting your friends: they might be in orchestra or they might be in a play and you want to just support them
I sometimes wonder if in some ways that you are postponing high school life. Does that feel that way for you?
Aurora: Yeah, kind of. I would hope that sometime in the near future we can go back.
Emmy: It’s like you’re meeting the requirements, the academic requirements of high school without any of the benefits of high school.
Aurora: Most of the time the only fun part about high school is the, you know, the fun activities in class, like in person, or the afterschool activities or just like, breaks, like, lunch and passing each other in the hallways and catching up what happened in class. But now it’s just the academic part.
Simone: If this goes on the whole rest of the whole high school, like almost every adult I know has like old high school friends and I haven’t really made any high school friends. And I don’t know if I will. And so, it feels like I’m postponing that a little, like, after high school I’ll make my friends.
Aurora: Or the friends we already have at the high school we might become more distant with them if they’re just the kind of friends that you don’t really hang out with outside of school, you won’t really hang out with them right now.
Emmy: Yeah, there’s no sort of opportunity for a casual friendship.
Aurora: Yeah, it’s either commitment or nothing.
Emmy: Yeah. Well, you two are close friends, and so do you make up for some of these gaps, do you try to make up for some of these gaps, and if so, what do you do?
Simone: Well, you know, we try to…we face-time at lunch all the time at lunchbreak, and we hang out outside as much as possible with this smoke.
Emmy: So, do you check in with each other as if you were in the hallway at school saying “How’d your class go?”
Aurora: Yeah, we can text each other about what we did in class or if we have the same teacher, like, what to expect in our next class.
Emmy: Or embarrassing moments that happened….
Aurora/Simone: (Laughs) Yeah
Emmy: Not like you’ve ever had those.
Simone: Never!
Emmy: What are some of your fears right now?
Simone: I mean I feel like this is just one of the most unrelaxing times, ever. There’s the virus, there’s the smoke here, there’s the whole online school thing that comes with it and prior danger and all the political stuff coming up, that’s all just very scary especially when you put it together. That’s one of my fears, I guess.
Emmy: Yeah, here we are in October, and we don’t know how long this will go on and what the future brings.
Simone: Of course, the priority is not getting anyone sick but it’s hard to balance, like is it all right for me to go here or there, like, is it safe. I never thought I had to worry about that.
Emmy: Yeah, will I give this to my grandmother? Aurora?
Aurora: I guess this just never ending and never really getting life exactly the way it was, or always having to live kind of having a life be this hard in this way, if that makes sense.
Emmy: Yeah. Like you’ll be under these social distancing restrictions for the rest of your high school days, for example. Yeah, let’s hope not.
What are your hopes for the future?
Aurora: I hope that we can go back to school or at least like, hybrid school and…
Emmy: Hybrid school meaning you’re there a couple of days a week.
Aurora: Yeah, I honestly think that would be fine…
Simone: Yeah, me too.
Aurora: …because too much of real school and too much of online school are both really challenging, so I feel like a mix of those two could be cool.
Emmy: You’re saying for the duration of high school you would think you might enjoy that.
Aurora: Yeah, even after -
Emmy: Co-vid is gone.
Aurora: I feel like they should see that as an option.
Emmy: Yeah, and who knows, maybe schools will adopt that, which would be great especially if you could just start at 9: 30 and you don’t have to get up early and make your sandwich and head out the door.
Simone: I do love starting at 9:30 that’s…
Emmy: Especially for a teenager, right? They need more sleep, they need to sleep in. (drily) I’ve heard that, and it’s been proven. (chuckles)
Yeah, I like that suggestion a lot: Hybrid school. Anything else, any other thoughts on how your lives are being affected by Co-vid, positive or negative?
Simone: I feel like everything is changing and there’s nothing we can do about it except we’re doing our part. But of course, that’s not going to change anything too big. So….
Emmy: It seems that we will all look at infectious diseases differently, won’t we?
Simone/Aurora: Yeah/Yes.
Emmy: And that maybe wearing a mask in public no matter what is going on will just be normal for us now.
Aurora: Yeah, I also feel like it’ll be weird once things start to lift, like to actually like, go in public without a mask, it will feel really weird.
Emmy: To invite someone into your home and give them a hug, won’t that feel weird?
Aurora/Simone: Yeah.
Emmy: Well, thank you both so much for joining me today. I enjoyed talking to you both.
Aurora/Simone: Yeah, of course, thank you.
Emmy: And maybe we’ll hear from you next time.
Aurora/Simone: I hope so/Thank you!
Emmy: You have been listening Sacred Truths with Emmy Graham. My guests for Teen Talk were Aurora and Simone with music by Chad Crouch. Thank you for listening.