Claire Cameron is a novelist and essayist whose books include The Bear and The Last Neanderthal. This piece was assembled using almost 40 stories and online discussions about students’ experiences of school during and since the pandemic lockdowns.
I have lived a thousand lives
This month four years ago looked drastically different for students I started high school on my couch in my basement
I had seen my teachers crying the day we were sent home it seemed as though normality might be lost forever
I did not step outside of my house for months I dreaded logging into my classes falling behind in my algebra the quarantined life was a fever dream
My heart dropped when I looked at my marks learning loss, disrupted education, missed opportunities it continued to go downhill from there I graduated in a parking lot
I worry the pandemic has robbed me of something we may be labelled “generation COVID” a lot of us are socially awkward no one emerged unscathed
I get to leave my house every morning I have the same 15-minute bus ride the routine I used to be so sick of I now appreciate
COVID made me realize this is what I need being able to communicate face to face with your friends and laugh I think it kind of brought us together
Has high school been the best time of my life? I have lived a thousand lives since 2020 I made it through the darkness and out the other side.