As a 13-year-old girl in quarantine, my whole life and my morals have changed. Every day, I think about how most of my family members’ lives are in danger when they go to work to be nurses. All day, I do school work and lay around.

During these two months I have missed so much. I have missed my baby cousin’s birth because I could not travel. I also missed the big birthday party we wanted to have for my 13th birthday. I can’t even remember the last time I hugged my family that lives in Michigan. It kills me that I can’t do anything to help my family because I am so young.

When I went to school on March 13, I never thought it would be my last day. At this point, my family and I just want to be safe and be together.

The world has changed much in just a blink of an eye. I feel as though the world will never be the same again and that people are still going to be cautious for an indefinite amount of time.

When I spoke with my aunt, Autum Deparasis, who is a nurse, she said, “no, I do not believe the world will go back to the way it was. I think that people are going to be more conscientious in the spread of germs and washing their hands more and social distancing.”

Multiple people have this same opinion, and I think it will be difficult to find anybody who thinks otherwise.

Many people are affected by COVID-19 in many ways. For example, I have to go to online classes. I also miss my friends and family terribly. My Aunt Autum also said, “I thankfully still have work because of being a nurse, and you need to be around people in order to be happy. It (the virus) is affecting my residents at work because they can not see their families, and I haven’t been able to see my family. It’s hard.”

My cousin, Alicia Harris, had another opinion, she said, “Home is rough. It is also hard since you can’t go to all stores due to them not being open. Grocery stores also have many limits on things. It is also very hard to buy things needed for a family of five.” This is affecting countless people in different ways.

Being healthy is the top priority for everyone. Some tips from medical personnel and experts to stay healthy and safe are to: Wash your hands for 20 or 30 seconds, wear a mask if you go out, stay away from other people, be cautious because you never know if the person standing next to you has it, and finally, be aware that germs live on surfaces so you have to make sure to not touch your face or your eyes.

My family and I are frightened during this difficult time but we have to get through this together even if we can’t actually be together.

This is a painful time for a lot of people whether it’s because you don’t have a job or if some of your family members are sick. We are going to get through this day by day.