Since Coronavirus reeled its ugly head into all our lives, many have lost more than they could have imagined without even contracting the virus itself. A lot of students, including myself, have lost family members to COVID, yet we’re still here pushing through a year that has been challenging for all of us. If anything, this last year has been a test harder than any standardized test could have ever been. But with the number of teens vaccinated growing every day, we can only hope that the following school year will be different. 

Ever since it was announced that people sixteen and over could receive the vaccine, many were shocked at how fast they were able to allow almost everyone to get it.

Sahuaro Junior Andrew Mourelatos did not expect to be able to get his first dose as soon as he did: “I honestly thought that we all wouldn’t be able to get our shots until May, so I was super happy when I found out I could get it sooner. It means a lot to me to be able to receive the vaccine because I’ve been anxious going in public and being around people, so knowing that I have some extra protection from the virus has helped my anxiety a lot,” he confessed.

When you have lost someone to Coronavirus, it makes you feel as if you didn’t do as good as a job as you should have to keep that person safe, but in reality there was nothing you could have done differently. When you see people protesting masks and vaccines, it hurts to know that these are the people that have made it even more possible for this virus to further infect and bring an end to the most vulnerable people in our lives. This blatant stupidity is ending lives and no one is likely to care until someone close to them passes from COVID, then their perspective changes. But by then, it’s too late.

Sahuaro student Mariah Nye finds herself frustrated, like many, with the fact that many are still refusing to follow COVID protocols that were designed for the safety of others. She said, “I’m looking forward to life getting back to normal, it’s heartbreaking that some people still aren’t social-distancing or using masks after all that has happened.”

After the loss that I’ve experienced this year, it is beyond frustrating to see that anti-maskers are continuing to make this a bigger problem for all of us, as if they couldn’t care less about how many people are dying everyday from this virus. It makes me angry to see mask mandates being lifted, allowing private businesses to choose whether people may enter with or without a mask. We as a country have not overcome this virus and if anything, we have only pushed it further into a pandemic, yet the majority of people want to believe that things can go back to normal already, which we just cannot allow. But it’s not up to any of us and that’s what makes it a thousand times more frustrating as people way older than us get to make the decisions that affect all of us.

Ana Paula Urias, a junior at Sahuaro has lost three loved ones to COVID in the last year and understands the rollercoaster of emotions that has come with such loss. “I lost two of my uncles and an aunt to Corona virus and it wasn’t something we expected to happen so close together and it never is something you expect, so when it happens you’re left in such a blur. My uncles were amazing men and soon-to-be grandfathers, so when I see my cousins or my widowed aunts it’s very sad, but also inspirational as they have picked themselves back up from what happened,” she said. “My aunt battled cancer for many years and so when she contracted the virus it was very painful to see her let go, but I know she is in a better place. It’s such a sad feeling knowing that you won’t see them grow old and become grandparents like everyone else, they all deserved so much better.” 

“It is so simple to wear a mask and obey the protocols that were created to keep us safe, I don’t understand how people are getting away with making this a much bigger problem. These people need to realize that their decision to not wear a mask and social distance is not just affecting them, but each and every one of us as we will only continue to lose loved ones to this deadly virus,” Ana Paula urged.

My grandmother was the warmest presence I’ve ever known – always laughing/cackling and having fun despite the pain she carried around with her everyday. We did everything right to try and keep her safe, but it still wasn’t enough. She contracted COVID while in the hospital and none of us knew until the day after she passed. It left me desperate to find out how it happened, but at the end of the day everyone kept her as safe as they could have and it wasn’t anyone’s fault. I’m still as confused and angry as I was February 10th, but now I understand that there is a reason for everything, and I can only hope that her death will show virus-spreading imbeciles how serious this virus is, but that might be too much to ask of them after all.

With the number of vaccinated people increasing by the thousands everyday, we can only hope that things will begin to return back to the way things were, but a lot has changed in the last year and we need to be considerate of what people have been going through. We cannot just open up everything at once and call it good, we need to give people the time to heal and take the time to remember the amazing people we’ve all lost in the last year.

Make memories, don’t be shy to say I love you, and never take someone’s life for granted, because one day they will no longer be here with us.