2020. It was almost time. The time that every student in my science class dreaded. When we had to join our 10:30 a.m. Google Meet. A sense of tiredness and annoyance flooded the call. 

“Please turn your cameras on so I can take attendance.” My teacher’s voice rang through my HP laptop’s speakers. One by one, they turned on. Faces, mostly tired, but some happy, revealed themselves.

45 minutes later, the class ended alongside a reminder to take our chapter test. Everyone dispersed to take their test with some help. My science book, taken home with me when COVID erupted, sat beside my online test with no teacher in sight to monitor. All teachers could do was hope.

Nearly everyone I ask admits to cheating during e-learning. This has caused me and many others to not retain information as we didn’t exactly put in the effort to learn, but rather to find the answers and go back to bed. However, cheating is not the only reason why it is hard to remember what we learned during that time. While learning at home, I found myself easily distracted by my TV, phone and pets, to name a few. However, while in school, I could focus on the topic at hand and get my work done more efficiently. I am sure that a majority of students could say the same.

Being back in school since the pandemic has cooled down is much more refreshing. Paying attention and doing classwork feels less of a chore. While I did try my best to learn in my classes during e-learning, I felt almost watered-down in a sense that I could not soak up information as well as I could before COVID. Today, I put in the same if not more effort into my studies as I did before the pandemic.

Not only this, but the social aspect of school past COVID has drastically improved, and now I can learn alongside my friends without a screen separating us. With no warnings saying how far apart we have to distance ourselves from our closest friends, I saw myself improve in school. I never knew how hard it was for me to attempt to learn topics by myself until we had to be isolated from people, helping me realize that I grasp lessons better in a classroom setting. COVID has helped me realize what normal things we take for granted and now I take the time to appreciate them more.