It’s been announced that in-person schooling will start up again next week. It will definitely be an adjustment from the isolation that has become the new normal.

The New York Times recently posted an article discussing how social interaction may change and how it relates to our isolation. For humans beings, social interaction is essential to our health. It’s a giant part of our lives, and it’s been taken away for quite a while. How does it affect us? After spending so long without social interaction, one begins to lose practice with it almost like coming back to hobbies after some time. The result is being awkward in social situations. Psychologists have related our isolation to the one of hermits, astronauts, and even prisoners. Though maybe not as long or harsh as their situations, it still is similar.

I was socially awkward even before COVID, though now if I have to go to the store the goal is to have no interaction with anyone and get home. Not only because of the risk but also because it feels weird to be around so many people after staying home for months at a time. One unnamed student says she has never been great with social situations, so she thinks she’ll have the same experience as before. Josh Frazer, a freshman, says he feels he’ll be nervous for a minute, returning to a social environment, but thinks he’ll act the same as before as well. The article says to fight this issue by being as social as possible. My personal way to help remain social is to facetime friends and family; that way, everyone is safe.

Along with going back to school comes many students’ opinions. An unnamed student says that she looks forward to being physically there as it’s easier to learn but is worried about being safe from COVID. Madiline Young , a junior, says that she feels it’s senseless going back to school because flu season is right around the corner. She says this causes a big issue because when kids start complaining of not feeling good, it’ll be impossible to tell the difference between the flu or COVID.