Mike Hidalgo, Asha Sandler, Hampton Facey, Jade Enyenihi

 
COVID-19 was something no one saw coming, including me. 

​I am a master’s candidate in Graduate School. 
While I am grateful for the opportunity to soon be finishing my degree,
 I also think about my future.
 
I wake up every day and try not to worry about my loved ones who are susceptible to COVID-19, my wife who is an essential worker or the state of the world as we know it. 
I try my best to do well at my jobs, and to be a strong student. I need to remain focused at this time of transition. I also try to reach out to as many people as I can. 
I miss Brooklyn, my home, and my people there. I miss my family – my niece especially. I miss hugs and I miss high fives. I miss driving and I miss the ocean. Most of all, I miss the sense of normalcy that a pandemic-free world gave me – for better or worst. 
I am happy for perspective, for knowing that that normalcy never really was, as it was just a shadow of reality. I am happy my parents and grandparents are still safe. I am happy that the world will heal. I am happy that not all connections are lost. 
I wonder how the youth development field will be in the months and years to come. I wonder if I can find my place in it all, especially since I am moving soon to a new place.
 
If I am honest, I am scared about not seeing people I love again before I move. I am scared of not finding work with so many things being on lockdown. I am scared of what comes next, and I am scared for the future of so many young people, even though I know they are resilient.
 
But I am the class of 2020, 
and I will use my education to benefit the next generation, no matter what obstacles there are.

I am a senior in high school. 
While I am grateful for my family's health and access to resources, I also think about my future. This is not the world I pictured being launched into.

I wake up every day and turn on my computer so I can get in touch with the rest of the world. Mondays through Fridays I have classes on Zoom. On weekends I do Zoom "dinners" with family. 
I try my best to maintain a work schedule, a sleep schedule, and a (virtual) social life, but I don't often succeed. 
I miss seeing my friends and teammates in the hallways, my eighth grade "little sibs" in homeroom, my teachers in class. I'm mourning all the senior traditions I won't get to experience: prom, graduation, our senior walkout, and more. I miss being a regular high school student. 
I am happy for the successes of my friends and classmates, even if we can't celebrate what our futures hold in person. 
I wonder if I will ever see the rest of my class again. I wonder how drastically our futures will shift as a result of this pandemic.
 
If I am honest, I am scared about what the next year holds for me. I don't know if colleges will be open come fall. I don't know if I'll be able to leave New York City. Right now, it's impossible to even try to plan.
 
But I am the class of 2020, 
and I will be graduating—an adult—this spring.

I am an eighth grader. 
While I am grateful for my family’s health,
 I also think about my future.

I wake up every day and want to go back to bed. 
I try my best to wake up early every day (unsuccessfully). 
I miss my friends.
I am happy for the fact that I don’t have to go outside. 
I wonder if things will get back to the way they were before COVID.

If I am honest, I am scared about
 My grandparents getting sick.
 
But I am the class of 2020, 
and I believe things will get better.

I am a fifth grader. 
While I am grateful for my family, 
 I also think about my future.

I wake up every day and pray.. 
I try my best to be a good friend. 
I miss being younger. 
I am happy for Mothers day. 
I wonder if I can still go to Florida over the summer.
 
If I am honest, I am scared about
the whole world dying.
 
But I am brave,  
and I will keep trying to stay healthy.
 

By Jess Barreto

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​Shit - Home with my thirteen year old brother and almost two year old sister, and parents all day! Lol just kidding, this quarantine has made me grateful to be part of such a loving family. Our fridge is full, we all get along and work as a team now more than ever. Our days consist of routines. We have school time from 9am to 3pm then my brother and I conduct baby school because we want our sister to be a genius, from 3-5pm.  Then we rotate the day; we each make dinner. Between that there’s laughter, giggles, pranks, and sibling fights. Art is being made, challenges are being developed, ideas are being brain stormed, jokes are being told. Then before dinner or after dinner, we workout. We finish the night off with game night.

Although I’m fortunate to have such experiences, I know many young people are struggling, mentally, physically and academically.. This pandemic has made things very challenging for the youth - seniors who have been deprived of graduation and prom, college students like myself who won’t have the opportunity to walk in May, students who have to learn and conform to distant learning, the youth who live with toxic family members. School and after school activities were the escape from a reality they are now forced to live, and they are having to learn to survive now more than ever. 

Having been a youth who grew up in the system and in institutions, my heart goes out to the kids who have no supportive family in a time like this. The ones who have mental health issues, and now more than ever are struggling. To the ones fighting housing insecurity; who have been kicked out of their dorms and are struggling to find a place to rest their head. It’s important in a time like this to give support whenever you can to whoever you can. ​To those struggling and battling behind closed doors I just want to say: you're stronger than you think. Although you may feel stuck or like nothing will change - every challenge, every struggle will only make you stronger.