After more than two years living with COVID-19, the threat seems to be lingering, but students are still living with the disruptions that it caused.

“It affected me because I had to stay at home for two years because everyone in my family gets sick easily except for me and one other person,“ Senior DeAngelo Mosley said. “I don’t get sick easily but everyone in my house gets sick quickly so I had to stay home and do virtual which was terrible….. It was really hard.”

With the constant cancellation of plans, Mosley noticed that friends started becoming distant. 

Although President Biden recently declared the pandemic “over,” Mosley is reluctant to say things are getting better.

“It feels like everyday life now,” he said, “and I don’t believe any disease will ever end because diseases do come back around. Even if they stopped, they don’t stay gone forever.”

Last year, school began with mask mandates in place, but as COVID numbers dropped, the mandates were lifted. This year, most students are choosing to be mask-free.

Senior Tiffany Rae Bruce doesn’t mind.

“It’s just their choice. I’m not really against the mask mandates lifting,“ she said. 

Despite the large crowds, Bruce said she plans on attending Homecoming and the Prom, so she can have fun, party and dance.

“COVID will eventually end because barely any people are getting it now, and some people are saying it’s just a cold now and it should go away,” Bruce said.

On the other hand, Senior Ashlee Griggs is feeling more hesitant about COVID recently. She believes the disruptions have affected her attention span and her overall perspective on her health .

“I feel like I’m less attentive than I used to be,” she said. “Nowadays, I could have an assignment and sometimes I’ll forget to do it and when I do that I have to either cram at the last minute or explain to the teacher why I didn’t do it.“ 

She plans on attending the homecoming dance, but has some concerns.

“Covid makes me want to be way more protective over myself and my health,” Griggs said. “It also makes me want to have less physical contact with others.”