I haven’t seen my friends in months. I haven’t sat in a restaurant, gone to the mall, been in any social setting other than the occasional trip to the grocery store, for six months. 

My summer was supposed to be filled with planning my sweet sixteen, driving around with my friends with my brand new driver’s license, and going on my first trip to Europe, stuff that I had been planning for years. Instead, I gave all of those things up and stayed at home. 

I took this summer and isolation to reflect and I recognized how privileged I was to have plans to cancel in the first place, and how much of a luxury it was to even be able to stay at home- instead of having to work like many essential workers. I did all of this because I listened to the scientists and doctors telling us that the best way to slow down the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic was to sit at home and limit social interaction. 

It seems like not everyone got the memo though because every time I log into Instagram I see my classmates hanging out in droves- no masks and no social distancing. 

Restaurants, cafes, parks, each other’s houses. Is your social life really more important than the safety and well-being of others?

People are dying. People are suffering. People are losing their jobs and loved ones, we are in the middle of the worst economic recession since the great depression, all because of this pandemic, and many teenagers around Frisco just don’t seem to care. 

Face to face learning is starting this week and I’ve noticed that almost everyone I know who has been posting pictures of their parties and hang-outs has chosen in-person classes. Just by scrolling through some of their Instagram feeds, you can see that many of these kids have interacted with dozens of people in the last few weeks, meaning that their exposure is incredibly high. 

These kids are coming back to campus, where they will be interacting with teachers, faculty, janitorial staff, and other students. Even though our district has implemented very safe protocols in order to mitigate the spread of the disease, it is impossible to maintain perfect social distancing all the time, especially with thousands of students reporting back to campus. 

These students are increasing the risk of exposure and spread, and all for very selfish reasons. They are endangering not only our faculty, who are interacting with dozens of students every single day, but other students who may have no other option than in-person learning.

There is no reason to go to restaurants and cafes with your friends when there are takeout options and technology like FaceTime and Zoom. If we stick to the proper social distancing and quarantine guidelines, this pandemic could be over, or at least controlled, soon enough.