When Covid started, I was 12 getting ready to turn 13 and preparing for what would be my very last trip. For my 13th birthday, we went to the Wisconsin Dells; this was the last time that I was in a hotel, swimming and being with friends for a very long time. When we got home from the trip, we thought we just had to give covid a couple of months. For those next couple of months, it progressively got worse. Then March hit and was a completely different story. It was so bad my whole city started to shut down. Nobody knew what to do. The school closed. It was only supposed to be a month, but it ended up being the rest of the year. After this happened, my mom got laid off for a couple of weeks, and I hit a low point. I was home every day, not allowed to leave my house. Not allowed to see my grandma.

I was stuck in the house. Always. I found myself crying twice a day or more, just wishing I had a chance to go outside or go in the car. Then my mom took me for a drive in the car, and we got ice cream and went down to Lake Michigan. I cried because I was so upset, but this was also the best feeling of being able just to see the outside. We started to do this almost every day. The next joyful thing was on Easter Sunday. We got to see my grandma, but it was only for ten minutes. We stayed outside, and we got her a mug and a stuffed animal bunny. I wasn't supposed to hug her, but she said forget it and hugged me. This hug was the best feeling, a warm tight hug from my grandma. She started crying, and then I cried. We had to leave, and it felt like the worst feeling ever.

Soon we got word that the number of cases was going up. Then my other grandma died. Just let that sink in. First Covid hit, you can't see anyone, and then your grandma dies. Everything felt like the most challenging thing ever. Now let’s fast forward a month. Summer stretched out before me with nothing to do but stay home and no swimming. Things weren’t so bad. I could see my grandma, sleep over, and go for long car rides. We went to the Wisconsin Dells to hang out for a day, and we began to have more freedom. Life was fun, and then once again, tragedy struck when my uncle got hit by a car. Fortunately, he survived.

I thought all that happened to me was the hardest thing ever. But fast forward again, now my mom grew very sick. I was doing everything from cooking to cleaning, never catching a break. I started to give up and not care. I lost most of my friends. I was very severely depressed. I just wanted everything to be normal. That was all I wanted.

Now everything is starting to slow down in a good way. I made new friends. My mom is ok. Everything is good. I’m doing better. I have a job that I love; there is a covid vaccination. Everything is going well. It’s starting to be back to normal.

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