What will life be like as things return to “normal”? photo by Nakya Castille. Featured in the photo: (left) Chase Bellomo, Juanita Hurtado, Caitlin Beery, Avery LoJacono. (Middle) Georgia Hartley (right) Ben Abram, Grace Leonard.
As more people get vaccinated, aspirations for the future do not seem as far away as they once did.
The past year has been extremely trying; however, with the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine comes a newfound hope for normalcy. It goes without saying that each person has been missing something from their lives: whether it be family members, friends, or events. Luckily, the reconnection with people and “normal life” is beginning to feel a bit closer. Eyad Mohammed, a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School, says that he is looking forward to “spend[ing] more time with [his] friends [who he hasn’t] seen in a year and a half.” He elaborated further when saying he was looking forward to “enjoying [his] summer.” Stephen LoJacano, a sophomore at TJ, has similar aspirations for the future. He says that he is “looking forward to seeing [his] grandparents because [he] hasn’t seen them for awhile, and [his] family in Florida because [his family hasn’t] been able to travel.” The pandemic has certainly limited and restricted many people from seeing their loved ones. Looking forward to reconnecting with family and friends is exciting and should prove to be extremely fulfilling.
Miles Durant, a junior at TJ, says that he is excited to do some “traveling, because [he] is a person who likes to travel a lot.” He went on to say that the pandemic “has stopped that, but now that it is getting [back to] normal [he] gets to go places.” Indeed, traveling has been limited; however, the possibilities provided by a return to normal should be rejoiced in, especially since it opens up a world of possibilities for connecting with people and the world once again. Jon Poole, Assistant Principal of Thomas Jefferson High School, states that he is looking forward to “having students in the building again.” He elaborates further when stating, “I love my colleagues, but I got into this to work with kids, not adults.” Some students are already in the building, however, looking forward to the days where all students can enjoy the privilege of the school building seems to be just that: a privilege to hopefully be realized soon. Throughout this entire pandemic, it has been helpful for many people to look forward and envision what they are most excited about getting back to. As Cloe Alexson, author of the article “We Asked 10 People To Imagine Life After The Pandemic, Here’s What They Said,” puts it, “We are no longer locked in the ‘perpetual present.’” For the last year, every moment has surrounded a pandemic precedent and has included some type of thought surrounding “pandemic precaution.” It will be nice to have moments solely devoted to one thing without a looming presence. Make no mistake, the pandemic is not over; however, everything does not feel so far out of reach anymore.
