Evelyn was 9 years old when the Stay-at-Home order went into effect. In the fall of 2020, she entered fourth grade at a new school. “The pandemic felt like you were trapped at home,” Evelyn said. “When I started 4th grade at a new school, I had to start online and I did not have any friends, so it was very difficult. I felt like I did not really learn anything while having class online. I remember waking up and just wearing pajamas to class and angling my Chromebook camera during PE away from me, so I would not have to do the exercises. I would eat in class during zoom calls. If the pandemic had lasted forever, I would be stupid today because we were not learning anything.”
When Evelyn looks back at the pandemic, she feels like it went by quickly. She reflected on some key things she recalls from 2020. “I think of masks—they were itchy and never fit my face right. Everybody was into Anime, and Tiktok was just getting popular. People were wearing crazy outfits with lots of colors and frog hats, and heavy make-up. I wanted to follow those trends, but today they are cringe. I think we should go back, because people seemed more free back then and we need to embrace the weirdness. Everyone was stuck inside and you could do whatever you wanted, versus today where I feel people are more into conforming to a standard.”
June, 2020
Freedom BLOC