“Light Switch”
By: Kayla Surprenant, Grade 8
According to Webster’s Dictionary, Quarantine is known as a state, period, or place of isolation.
I feel that the word isolation, is a word that puts it too lightly. From my eyes, jail... prison... place of
confinement... these are better words to describe life right now. All across the United States people are
trapped in their houses, left wondering if the world will ever be the same again. It seems like a distant
memory, our old lives: waking up at 6am to get ready for school, seeing my friends at lunch, dealing with
drama that involved people who I now realize are not as important as others in my life, walking to
Dunkin’ after a long day of work, seeing all my friends at Track and Field practice afterschool. Within all
those moments that stand out from the past, there are also the little things that will come back to you at
times you least expect them. For me it’s things like looking out the window of my second floor French
classroom on a rainy day, listening to my friends talk about stupid and random things that make me laugh
so much my stomach hurts, walking through the halls feeling a sense of accomplishment, going to my
locker during passing time and gathering the materials I will need for my next class. I feel that the
situation that all of America is dealing with can be described in two simple words: Light Switch. I know
that may sound weird and like it shouldn’t be used to describe a pandemic, but let me tell you how this
relates. One day we woke up, went off to school or work or the store, we returned home, and then
suddenly with a click of a T.V. remote or the click of the answer button on a phone, our daily routines and
lives were switched off. Schools, businesses, restaurants, you name it... were all closed… just like a light
switch. One day we were living our normal lives and then, not even within a 24 hour period of hearing
about the possibility of closings, our normal lives were switched off. Throughout my life I have had to
find a new normal a lot... and I mean a lot. My dad has been deployed more than 5 times throughout my
life... my Grandpa was diagnosed with Brain Cancer and sadly passed away... just when I thought life was
good and I had a great group of friends, even that changed. This situation has brought us to find that new
normal of our everyday lives. Our parents became our teachers, our rooms became classrooms, our only
way to contact others was with our cell phones. Everything that happens in my life I know happens for a
reason, and even if I will never know what some of those reasons are, I know that one of the main ones is
that they will make me a stronger person. I believe that after all of this, when we get to go back to school
and reunite with our friends, we will have a new found understanding for the things we have. I know that
I miss my best friend a lot and it’s killing me that the Ice Cream Crew can’t hang out together. I’m
finally getting the view I needed to truly appreciate what I have when I have it. I for a fact will not
complain about running, or getting up to go to school, or going to dance class anymore. I miss all of
these things and I am hoping that I will get them back soon. The world might never go back to normal,
it’s a very real possibility. Even after COVID-19 is gone, I can guarantee that people will still be waiting
for the alarm to go off at 8 o’clock at night telling us to be inside our houses, people will still be wearing
masks and staying 6 feet apart from each other. The people are right about one thing though, the
Coronavirus will be a topic in an eighth grade history class way in the future, much like mine learning
about Yellow Fever in the 1700s. I am just hoping that this will make us stronger as a Nation and will
bring more people together, making us stronger for the future.
P.S. Somebody please turn the Light Switch back on.
Sincerely,
Kayla