Summer—a time when the stress of school and responsibility are put to a halt and students are able to relax. This past summer was a bit less carefree considering the impact Covid-19 had on so many people. 

With the effects of Covid-19 still relatively unknown as the summer began, the thought of travelling seemed dangerous to many. A spiking death toll and urgency to stay home were two factors contributing to the very different summer. 

Travel is a big part of many people’s summer, whether it’s to just get away or to visit loved ones. But with the shutdowns came cancellations. 

“Covid-19 had a positive and negative impact. The negative impact is that I didn’t get to go back to Vietnam to visit family,” sophomore Hailey Pham said. “So, I didn’t get to see my aunties, friends and my mom. But I’m glad FaceTime is a thing. I still get to see them through a screen, but it’s not the same.” 

Senior Lily Jacks shared how this summer was a time for individualized development.

“In my daily life, I was able to relax and focus on myself more without the burden of summer assignments or keeping up with social plans,” Jacks said. “I was able to grow as a person and expand my skills and hobbies. The months of downtime also allowed me to undertake projects I wouldn’t have been able to without the additional time.” 

Even with summer activities postponed, many students were still able to make the most out of the summer they were presented with. 

“I had a good amount of summer trips and camps in place that ended up getting canceled, but I was also able to step out of the world and reconnect with a lot of things that needed to get done,” senior Luke Green said. “This definitely wasn’t the most exciting summer due to having to be cautious around others, but I was still able to manage to have some fun.” 

Social interaction is something people usually encounter daily, but with the shutdown this became very difficult to do. 

“I wasn’t able to just go out and hang out with others like I was used to, so I had to adjust to that,” sophomore Katherine Tinker said.

For some, the closing of school early, which extended our summer, gave them new opportunities in the workforce.

“The place where I work was considered to be essential and stayed open. I was now able to open my availability and work way more hours,”  senior Brooke Flores said.

With the restrictions on gatherings in place,, students still did what they could to keep in contact with others. 

“Honestly, this has been a very interesting event in my life. I went from having conversations with just about everyone to narrowing it down to only a couple people,” sophomore Ryan Linstruths said. “I’m sure like most people I had to break a rule or two to keep my mental state thriving.”   

Summer, for many students, remained  a time to kick back and be stress free, whether they had plans or not.  

“Besides hanging out with my friends, my summer was still the same summer I planned for myself and that’s to stay to myself and relax,” junior Alison Darce said.

Covid-19 made many everyday occurrences come to an end out of the fear that the virus could be contracted. 

“It was negative in a way that I missed out on many family vacations I take every year. I wasn’t able to attend church camp, and it prevented me from getting my license on time,” junior Kinsley McDonald said. “Covid also put me out of my job for almost two months, and I was unable to see a lot of my family and friends for a long time due to quarantine.” 

Even though summer 2020 wasn’t necessarily “one for the books,” students continue to hold out hope for next summer’s adventures. 

Senior Rileigh Silber said, “COVID-19 has really taken a toll on my life and everyone’s. I’m not sure if we’ll ever get back to the way things were, but I’m hoping next summer will be able to make up for a lot of the things I’ve missed such as the YoungLife camp, work experiences I’ve mentioned and spending the summer with my friends and family like I wanted to do.”