Berkeley, CA:

While I knew quarantine was going to be tough, I never expected it to be so bad. At first, I just missed all my friends, and even school (which I didn’t think was possible), but I eventually got used to staying home all day, not going to school, and not being able to see my friends. My mom and I got closer, we even did a five-week workout challenge together and learned how to cook new foods (salmon is our new favorite food).

Summer didn’t feel like summer because nothing really changed except for the fact that I wasn’t doing schoolwork all day, but it wasn’t the break I needed. It was not the stress-free summer I usually have – how could it be, I was starting to apply to college and things quickly turned downhill for my family.

My twin sister’s depression got worse, which made sense given the circumstances but didn’t make it hurt any less. Over the summer, my family life changed drastically. My sister struggled with depression and was in and out of the hospital until she tried to commit suicide. Thankfully, she is still alive today and is getting better. Only months later, she had a terrible accident at the beach. She shattered her femur and fractured her hip, so she had to have emergency surgery. The surgery went well, but her injury had other complications so she ended up staying in the hospital for two weeks after that. She was just released from the hospital and has been working hard to get better despite all the challenges she has had to deal with – she just cannot catch a break.

Anyways, the stress of college applications, schoolwork, and what my family’s going through has made quarantine especially stressful.