Murrieta, CA:

The quarantine rules where I live have been very strict and I feel like they are changing all the time. It has been very difficult to know what I am allowed to do because the rules have been very ambiguous. I have had no restaurants for months, but finally, a few months ago, restaurants were allowed to open and have outdoor dining. I have been able to go out three times to eat since August which has been really nice to get out of the house. I think the hardest thing has been having nothing being open. It is really sad to be doing almost the same thing every time my friends and I hang out. It can get really boring to go to each other’s houses for months. I usually go out two to three times a week on average. With school, it is hard to have time to go out more. It is really hard to tell when the rules will be lifted. It seemed likely a few weeks ago that things would start to improve, but the cases have started to go up again. At the beginning of August, everyone had hopes of going back to school in mid-November; however, we are not close to a traditional school environment next semester. As of the moment, we are planning of doing a hybrid model, but there is a possibility that it could change.

I think that the hardest thing about quarantine and COVID-19 has been going to school online. Last semester during the spring was mostly busy work because the school was not prepared to switch from traditional schooling in the classroom to zoom classes. This semester, I feel like some of my teachers seem to be expecting more than if we were actually in person. I am finding it more difficult to balance my life between social, personal, and school. I feel tight on time. I think what makes it harder is that I am not getting the social interaction that I will usually be able to have during school time. Sometimes I am glad that I am home, but sometimes I am not. It is incredibly lonely sometimes. It honestly depends on the day if I am glad to be at home. I am not bored. I have too much school work and responsibilities to consider myself bored. I pass the time with school, baking, chatting with my friends on the phone, and watching movies.