It’s January, and I still haven’t had my first day of high school yet.

When I graduated from middle school I was, of course, excited to start school at NDB. I looked forward to everything, sitting at lunch, meeting new people, playing sports, going to dances. There were so many things I was looking forward to experiencing.

I hoped to walk down the halls of NDB and walk past my classmates on my way to English class, excited for a football game later that night. I looked forward to sitting in the cafeteria swapping stories with my new friends while eating the delicious food that the NDB girls rave about. I was beyond excited to try out for the volleyball team. In fact, it was one of the main reasons I chose to go to NDB. I had dreamed of going dress shopping with my friends for our first formal and I certainly never imagined that my life would be disrupted in so many ways.

I never expected COVID-19 to affect my Freshman year as much as it has. I am on Zoom for every one of my classes and it is obvious that I, along with the rest of my classmates, wish the circumstances were different.

I was eagerly anticipating the start of in-person classes, however, the date has been pushed back again to February.

I understand the reasons why I am not in school, but I can’t help feeling that I have missed out on a lot of memories that I could be making with the girls in my class. I know that there will be so many more opportunities in the future and I am excited for the years to come. I am grateful for my health and safety and that of my family’s but there is still a tug in my heart that wishes I was at school.

I want my first day of high school and it disappoints me that NDB keeps changing the start date. I have missed out on so much already and I don’t want to start and end my Freshman year staring at a computer screen.