Two years ago, the entire world received a wake-up call that none of us were prepared for. Schools shut down for what we thought was going to be two weeks but ended up being the rest of the 2019-2020 academic school year. All of our favorite places closed down and we all were forced to become isolated and learn how to find comfort within ourselves. Although these circumstances were universal, it was so easy to feel alone and as though we were so insignificant- like our lives no longer mattered. 

It has been an excruciatingly long journey to return to normality, but I am more than happy to say that we are finally seeing some light at the end of a dark, confusing tunnel. Over the last two years, we have not only experienced everything closing down, but we have also been able to watch everything slowly open back up again. We were able to see our nation at its very worst, struggling to combat not only a pandemic, but also fighting for our freedoms and the safety of others in our society.

We saw our nation get torn apart into two strongly opposed sides and continue to face the repercussions of that today. Mask mandates have been placed and lifted, and then placed again, and COVID-19 vaccinations have been given out to the majority of society. After all of that, we are finally being able to see improvement.

It feels so good to know that change is finally happening. I have never been one to complain about wearing masks, but the fact that society is finally reaching the point where COVID rates are decreasing and mask requirements are being dropped makes me feel content like we did something right that is allowing us to have this change in society. Although I will continue to wear my mask, it is so relieving to see that school is finally becoming school again. We now are capable of seeing each other face to face, without a sneeze-guard or a mask blocking the way. We can form better connections to those around us and are beginning to see the “normal” that we have been so desperately searching for, ever since this pandemic began. 

Although these two years were dreadfully long, I feel as though the overall outcome of them has made the long, tiresome wait worth it. No one knows exactly what is to come as the future continues to unravel, but hopefully, we, as a society, will continue to grow stronger and get closer to finally achieving “normal” again. Despite the fact that the experiences that we have faced ever since March of 2020 have not been positive, they have taught us some of the most valuable lessons that we should continue to learn from as time continues to pass. It is so liberating to finally see that we have all survived this pandemic and will continue to work towards maintaining the safety of ourselves and those around us in a world that is almost normal.