As March quickly approaches, students and staff of HHS reflect on the year they’ve had since COVID-19 impacted them. It was merely one year ago when Raiders were sent home due to Coronavirus concerns, and everyone was under the impression that HHS would be back to normal in two weeks time. Flash forward a whole year and here we are, hybrid and virtual learning still very prominent parts of our daily lives.

With the anniversary of schools being shut down and quarantine starting, we’re forced to think about: what’s really changed in the past year? The most blatant change is wearing facial coverings in any public place. Something that would seem completely bizarre to people a year ago today is now an essential part of daily life. Another aspect of life that was taken for granted was gathering in large numbers in person. Even attending school normally is an unattainable goal for most school districts, including Hillsborough.

Students being able to simply “log on” to their classes from anywhere is the new normal. Some of the most common places to learn from are students’ beds, bedrooms, kitchens, living rooms, or even the gym. Imagine trying to explain to your 2019 self that you would be logging on to class from the comfort of your own bed. When talking with friends and peers, we’ve all agreed on one thing: it is incredibly strange having your class and teacher see the inside of your bedroom/home.

Reminiscing on life before COVID-19 also brings back memories of going to school or sports practices even with the common cold. Now, if someone displays even the slightest symptom of the coronavirus, they’re immediately sent home and will probably get tested as well.

Children are also forced to think harder about who they spend time with in person. By now, kids and teens have established a quarantine circle, or people they hang out with enough to not worry about catching the coronavirus. But now, going over to someone’s house is much more tedious than just asking your mom or dad, now it’s asking who they’ve been seeing, if they have any symptoms, if other people will be there, and if they’ve been tested recently.

Spontaneity is a thing of the past as traveling out of state via airplane requires a negative test within 72 hours of departure time, and a quarantine period upon returning to New Jersey. Before going anywhere in-state as well, it’s important to look for a COVID-19 form on a website to have filled out and ready to go upon arrival. Who would have thought that something such as traveling that was so simple just a year ago could become too complicated?

Needless to say, basically every aspect of life have changed dramatically in such a short period of time. Virtual school and work, mask wearing, and quarantine circles are just a few of the major changes we’ve seen thus far. However, as more and more people receive the vaccine, these areas of daily life will continue to change and people will adapt to the circumstances at hand.