It’s almost been a year since the lockdown started. Funny to think it was only going to be 6 weeks! I feel like quarantine has been a test of friendship. If you aren’t friends with someone now that you were friends with before COVID-19, they weren’t your real friend. My experience with friends during quarantine is that we’ve only grown closer! Technology has played a huge role in this. If it weren’t for texting and FaceTime, I don’t think I would be where I am today. My friends and I text daily; I can barely eat without texting them.

The same goes for family members! My grandma and grandpa and super sensitive to COVID-19; They haven’t left their house since March! In order to talk to them and keep everyone safe, we like to FaceTime or do a Zoom call every once in a while. We did one them on Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s really nice to see their faces, but I miss their hugs; that’s been the hardest part.

I only hang out with one friend, which keeps interactions lower and it’s nice to see them! It really sucks not being able to see my friends every day, like we would if we had a normal school. Morgan Kelly, a freshman at GHHS, said, “I have a very tight group of friends, so when lockdowns and social distancing became the new norm, we texted and FaceTimed in group chats almost every day. We also arranged to see one another and hang out in person almost every month. On birthdays, we would have small get-togethers or go to bookstores! I also tried out Netflix party once with a couple of friends!” Wow! These are all super great ways to stay in contact with friends!

Rachel Hileman, also a freshman at GHHS, said, “With quarantine, it’s harder to keep friends, due to not being able to see our friends. However, most kids, teens, and adults have a phone to communicate with friends. In my opinion, I believe that if you still have the same friends from before quarantine, they are in it for the long run. But it has been harder to keep friends in quarantine.” We are so lucky to have phones and many other devices to keep us connected with people, even during these crazy times.