Welcome To My World
COVID-19 through the eyes of a teen
Hello everyone, my name’s Xavier. I am 16 and when Covid started I was a Sophomore…I’m about to be a Senior. I’m a pretty extroverted person. I talked to, and interacted with, a lot of people before the world shut down. So this pandemic has been pretty tough on me.
My best friend in the entire world, who we’ll call Vax because he’d like his identity kept private, absolutely loves the isolation caused by this pandemic. I understand why he does, he just got a fantastic girlfriend, Mary, and they get to play video games together all day. Until school went back to full time, anyway.
It wasn’t the same for me. I didn’t enjoy it as much. Well, to be honest, I did until it went on for a whole year. Now I cannot wait until school starts up again so I can go back to my life.
COVID was a catastrophe not many expected. My dad, being the genius he is however; knew it would turn into a pandemic the moment the reports started coming in. I didn’t believe him at first but look at us now.
Missing a year and a half of school has been pretty hard on me. A lot of people who I thought I was close to showed that they only spoke to me because we were in school. Turns out, proximity doesn’t translate to partiality.
I lost one of my closest friends during this whole thing over a moral disagreement. It made me feel so alone, even though I have a great family I can share with. It also showed me that my only true friend is Vax. He’s been my best friend for years. He is one hundred percent the reason I’ve been able to stay stable during this pandemic.
I’m a 16 year old so I’ve obviously had crushes during this whole thing. The world being shut down has made it so hard to become close with any new people. Yeah, social media makes it easier than ever, but I prefer meeting in person. I like to go out, maybe get some food at a local food place, go to our mall and watch a movie. That hasn’t really been possible this past year.
That being said, Vax met his girlfriend because of this pandemic so maybe there is still a chance for love. Mary is a a wonderful woman, Vax’s partner, and, thanks to the hobbies we all share, a person I’ve welcomed into my life. Even if I haven’t quite found mine, it’s been amazing watching their love blossom into our lives.
Enough about my lack of a love life though, the biggest thing that this pandemic has showed me is how important staying healthy is. I’m sure I’m not the only person who got very out of shape during this crisis and I’m certainly not the only person who has used this isolation as a chance to prepare for the inevitable apocalypse by getting into better shape than I’ve ever been.
I’d like to say now that, yes, this pandemic has been very hard for me. And, yes, I’ve complained a lot, but I’m actually grateful for the time I’ve spent this year plus, it’s truly helping me become a person I want to be. It’s helped me to find myself as a person, learn not to rely on other people for my self worth, and given me a sense of who I am without the influence of the “cool/popular” people in school.
I’ve found my own hobbies, besides video games, and learned that I can make friends outside of school without the reputation that I hang out with cool people. I now have a smaller but more loyal friend group than I’ve ever had. They like me for myself and my personality rather than my reputation at school. Which honestly has felt really great.
Now you may remember that I said my only true friend was Vax and while that is true that doesn’t mean he’s the only person I talk to and share friendly moments with. He’s just one of the only people who, no matter what I do, will stand by and support me.
While this pandemic has been hard for me, it’s also showed me a lot about the people around me as well as myself and I couldn’t be happier with myself and my family. I have a new confidence I never thought I lacked and a new resolve to show people what I am and what kind of people I stand for.
I know this story has been all over the place and I promise my next piece won’t be. I plan on writing a new article and publishing every Friday. Next week I’ll share my health and fitness journey; the why, how, and when I decided to get myself back into shape.
Thank you all for listening and I hope you all have a fantastic weekend. Peace out and I love you all.
