Luc Hernandez, junior at Aragon High School

The Catalyst (TC): What’s a typical day of school like for you?

Luc Hernandez (LH): I wake up around 8:30, I get online at around 10 minutes late because I’m terrible at being on time for my classes…each class is around 1 hour 30 minutes, something like that.

TC: How are you coping with shelter in place and keeping in touch with your friends?

LH: [I like] playing video games, going outside, and playing the guitar…I still see friends, but we try to stay safe.

TC: So how has your life been now that we’re in shelter-in-place, like whether academically, physically, or mentally?

LH: Academically, it’s definitely deteriorated. Physically, there’s no difference, since I spend all my time inside anyways. Mentally I think it’s been worse. Going to school, I definitely took it for granted, and talking to people,was definitely good for mental health in general. I mean I got nervous sometimes, and anxious in school, but people were there when I needed them. It’s not so much anymore in shelter-in-place, so you feel more isolated.

TC: What do you wish Aragon did differently with online school?

LH: I think they’re doing all they can, at the moment, so to wish anything else would be an unrealistic expectation. They are starting Asynchronous Wednesdays [Wednesday’s off], and I think that’s a good idea.

TC: What do you like the best about distance learning.

LH: The fact that you can just get up and go to the fridge, whenever you want to go to the fridge. Yeah, definitely eating. It’s so much better than school lunches.