COVID-19 impacted the way people function in their everyday life. In addition to wearing masks and an increase in the importance of self-hygiene, people have changed the way they interact with one another and how they perceive each other. COVID-19 impacted Lambert Highschool more than anyone could have ever imagined.

Mrs. Jackson, a French teacher at Lambert Highschool has witnessed the difference between this school year and last; as she taught in person both years.

“Last year I felt like we were all on the same team, together and I really bonded with the students that were here because we were facing all the challenges together,” Mrs. Jackson stated.

Students who attended school last year shared a common experience from the problems caused by COVID-19; this brought them closer together and curated new relationships. Teachers also became closer to their students.

 Lambert is a huge school with different types of students, which makes it hard to feel connected with all the students. However, during quarantine with the school being much smaller, teachers found that it was easier to get to know their students. 

“This year it feels like the polar opposite,” Mrs. Jackson began. “It’s like very industrial, there’s a lot of kids. It’s way less personal than it was before.” 

In the new school year of 2021-2022, more people came back to school and everything is different. The amount of students is overwhelming and hallways are constantly packed. Now instead of bringing people together, COVID-19 has caused paranoia in the student body.

Teachers feel disconnected from their students more than ever. It seems like all everyone wants to do is just get through another year of school. 

In contrast, other people didn’t believe that this was the case. With the problem of COVID-19, there was tension between friends and lots of friendships broke apart. What a person decided to do with their time at home showed their true self. Michelle Mcleod, a sophomore at Lambert, gave her opinion on this matter.

“A lot of people would judge how other people handled the situation, and it causes a lot of people to turn against each other based on their personal choices,” Mcleod stated. 

Michelle, like a lot of other students this year, feels that people are being more diverse. Everyone reacted differently to the effects of COVID-19 and it portrayed their true feelings on the subject. People who wore masks every day didn’t agree with the fact that some people would never wear their masks.

Everyone seemed to have different opinions on the effect of COVID-19 both socially and mentally. With all of these different opinions, it’s hard to tell who’s right or wrong, but we should do our best with what we are given. It is up to us to find a way to move forward and prosper from COVID-19 and bring life back to normal. Even though COVID-19 may have brought a divide to our school, we can join together and learn from our experiences.