Olivia Pisaneschi

As an upperclassman, junior Olivia Pisaneschi was ready to enjoy all of the events that the last few months of the school year would bring. Now, she mourns the loss of some of those activities, such as prom and Journey. “I think I was looking forward most to Journey,” she said. “I think that [it] definitely hit hard when we couldn’t go on that.”

While some students have found enjoyment since the cancelation of school, Pisaneschi misses the time that she had in school. “I know I’m not a senior so it didn’t hurt as bad, but still thinking [that] we’ve lost a part of our high school experience [is] really sad,” she said. “It was hard to realize that.”

In order to try to make up for the lack of communication with her friends, Pisaneschi tries to frequently FaceTime or Snapchat her friends because she said “it is a good way to see their faces.” While some apps do make it possible for face-to-face interactions through a screen, she misses being able to physically see her friends.

“I think during the school year, it’s a lot easier to stay happy… and smiley and stuff because you do see your friends everyday, and even if you did have a bad night or a bad day before, you know the next day will be good because you do get to see your peers and your teachers,” she said. “At home if you’re sad the day before [or] the night before, then there’s not really anyone to give you a hug or talk you up.”

As for academics, Pisaneschi has been able to keep up with her work during digital learning days since being in quarantine. She tries to find balance in her days by taking breaks and exercising so that she doesn’t spend excessive amounts of time staring at a screen. “I’m getting a lot more [headaches] because we’re just staring at a screen,” she said.

To help mentally relieve some of her stress, Pisaneschi has been keeping herself busy by finding a variety of ways to workout at home. “I normally take a break during the day to go workout,” she said. “[I’ll] go on a run if it’s nice out, [and] if not, I do something else for cardio.” Overall, she said that working out has definitely helped to clear her mind and to take a pause from life.

Pisaneschi has also found time during break for some new hobbies, such as baking cookies with her mom, which she enjoys because “it’s fun to take them to your friends.”

Next year as a senior, Pisaneschi thinks that her and the rest of her class will be much more appreciative and not take anything for granted. “We’re [going to] really just do every activity that comes up, or go to every game, no matter how far, where it is, or what we have going on the next day,” she said. “We’re really just [going to] take advantage of our senior year.”