Missing Out

       Click, click again, then click a third time. Click until the zoom meeting is opened, then once again to make sure the camera is on and the audio is connected. That is what defines the lives of students, especially those at home.

       Student’s lack of social interaction with their peers has caused some to long for their lives to return to regular. 

       “I’m looking forward to seeing my friends and being able to go back to a normal life,” Graciela Fischer, a junior who recently switched to Connections Academy, said. “I’ve learned that I definitely appreciated the small things without realizing it, such as being in a class, so I’m definitely looking forward to doing that again.”

       The yearning for these experiences isn’t an isolated feeling. Students from several schools are missing out on the experiences that define a typical school year.

       “I miss socializing and getting help from my teachers on assignments, and I miss participating in elective courses such as pottery,” Kaleigh Kittelberger, a junior at Clear Creek high school, said. “My favorite part of doing school in the building was being able to socialize with my friends and ask my teachers questions and be able to get immediate responses.”

       Many students are missing the interactive aspects of being in school. Fischer said her favorite part of having class in person was the hands-on opportunities such as labs.

       “As weird as it sounds, I honestly just miss being in a class with others and being engaged in person,” Fischer said.

       Freshman students, unlike their older peers, don’t get to have the experience of going to high school for the first time. Most students agree that freshmen don’t get the chance to experience the school’s atmosphere and spirit.

       “I think freshmen are missing out on normal high things like learning, finals, responsibilities, and of course, the big things like Homecoming and sports events,” Fischer said.