The quarantine did more than promote social isolation, as it uprooted the entire latter part of MCHS seniors’ year. Many were quick to welcome the impromptu break, but herein are the words weeks into the quarantine. In the most candid form, I present to you the voices of those whose lives are riddled with uncertainty.

“I’m really upset that our senior year was cut short because of the virus. There’s so many things that we’re not going to be able to experience: prom, grad nite, our senior picnic, and our graduation, to name a few. I’m sad because I was looking forward to making all those memories with my friends that we would be able to reminisce on in the future. It’s the kind of thing I’ve always looked forward to since I was little. It’s also sad to think that most of us will probably never see each other again. We just need to have faith that the people who are meant to be in your life will be there. This experience has taught me to cherish each and every day you’re given because you don’t know when it can all be taken away.” – Genesis Lopez

“It’s like, weird. This actually happened and I didn’t expect it to go down like this. Am I not going to go back to school at all? Or am I going to stay until I go to college? What if I don’t see my friends anymore?” – Eduardo Abrica

“I’ve seen a lot at Middle College, both good and bad. I’ve had a lot happen to me, and I’ve had a lot happen because of me. The more time I spent away from school, the more I realized how happy my life truly is. I have people messaging me constantly, wanting to hear from me constantly, wanting to enjoy their isolation through calls with me. All of that I realized because my mind was free from the stresses and experiences of Middle College. I was on my way to making this school a place where people didn’t feel like I did, yet, it was all stripped away. It’s almost poetic, but whatever happens in the future, I know that every day I expressed myself honestly and without guise. I loved my club, I loved my journalism staff, I just wish I could say the same for other things. Nonetheless, I remain extremely happy. Be safe everyone.” – Emanuel Negrete

“I feel like Coronavirus, especially in the U.S., can be more preventable, but a lot of people aren’t doing their part. I feel as if people are being selfish. There are people who are still going out and acting like nothing is wrong. I feel like they aren’t taking people like the elderly and people with bad immune systems into consideration because they do the stuff they normally do. People might be overreacting a bit, but we have to take it seriously because there are people who are suffering. We do need to stay home and do need to limit the people we interact with. I mean it sucks, but at the same time, it’s safety first. It’s important that we take those measures because the world doesn’t revolve around seniors. It sucks that we might not have grad night, or  graduation because a lot of activities are being cut. In the long run, it’s important that they are cut because the situation is about everyone. I’m not sad, I’m more disappointed. However, I can realize that this is necessary because the world doesn’t revolve around me as I am willing to comply and take these measures.” – Aaron Cuellar

“It’s definitely boring although I have hobbies and schoolwork to keep me occupied. I do miss seeing people, but it does no good dwelling on the bad aspects of this quarantine. I know other seniors feel bummed about missing out on senior activities, but I don’t really care about it. Overall, I feel neutral.” – Jessie Ortiz

“It sucks cause we worked hard for our activities and it is likely that we won’t be able to do anything” – Angel Hernandez

“I feel anxious and worried that we won’t have our senior activities that we’ve worked so hard for to get like our a graduation ceremony, prom, and grad nite.”- David Juarez

“I believe it was really unfortunate and unexpected how everything is going down. I do miss my friends and I am disappointed that I won’t be able to create some last memories at school, but I think it’s important to be hopeful about the future. I also believe that it’s important to realize that our problems are nothing compared to what other people are going through right now. For many, being indoors isn’t fun and their parents aren’t able to provide for them because they are out of a job. So I’ve just been trying to be grateful for the things I have and most of all be conscious of everything that is going on around us.” – Karen Alegria

“It’s difficult because I need help with scholarships, award letters, and much more. Although we do have zoom it’s not the same as receiving help in person. It’s also quite sad that there is a possibility that graduation can be cancelled due to the covid-19 because we have all worked so hard during our 4 years of high school.” – Nayeli Playas

“Before the quarantine, I didn’t like going to school because I felt all the senior electives I had were a waste of my time so I was glad to have a break. Now I have been dealing with eight week SAC finals so I’m thankful to have this time to study and finish all my essays. However, once I finish all the classes I’m sure that I’ll feel different and more upset about the situation. I am bummed out about the possibility of not having a graduation for both high school and SAC and all the senior activities that I’ll be missing. What keeps my mind off this sad last semester of high school is knowing that I’ll be attending my dream university after high school. Hopefully we can go back to school to actually enjoy our last time being hs seniors and saying a proper goodbye.”- Janet Landa

“It’s weird because we all didn’t know our last day of high school was going to be that Friday before we left and its like loosing someone you love unexpectedly. I think overall it showed me that we need to ensure we appreciate everyone around us because you don’t know when you’ll get a chance to see them again. Very cliche but very true. Although it sucks that almost everyone was cancelled, I think we will be every happier to see each other.”- Emily Corona

“It honestly sucks that we’re missing out on some of our senior activities because of this quarantine. For others, like the juniors, sophomores, and freshmen, it may not be that bad but at least for us seniors, prom, grad night, and graduation was something that we were looking forward to.”- Monserrat Martinez

“I feel sad that we’re missing out on the fun part of the high school experience and that I won’t be seeing my friends especially because I’ll be leaving after high school. But I do recognize that it’s for the best in the end.” – Jennifer Cariño

“The whole quarantine life has been kind of hard. It’s our last year as seniors and not being in school is shocking. We are also getting our college acceptances, and I would feel much safer if I could talk to a teacher face to face.” – Damaris Carlos

“It’s ok. It kind of sucks because it’s our last few months in high school and we won’t be able to take part in activities the former seniors got to.” – Tina Vo

“I’m really upset that I have to be quarantined for my last semester of high school since I may have lost a lot of the scheduled senior activities and last few months that I have with my fellow classmates and friends. These last few months were supposed to be very memorable, however, with being quarantined it feels that I won’t be able to live through those moments. Also, there is a concern if we will be having graduation as it looks like more and more people are being infected with this virus. I just take it one day at a time.” – Reyna Ediss

“I’m not super upset like some students are. I do miss the help we get from our AVID classes and counselors regarding college. Especially now that we received acceptance letters and have to decide where to go to school.” – Jair Mendez

“I feel sad because I was always looking forward to graduation and all the senior activities. Although I didn’t like going to school, now I miss it because it was the only way for me to see my friends. My friends and I have been talking about prom since freshman year and now that we might not even have our last dance it’s hard.” –  Wendy Sanchez

“It kinda sucks the fact that it’s our last year as a senior and we’re being stuck inside our own homes. If I had to be honest, at first, I thought this was a dream come true because what gamer doesn’t want to be stuck at home. However, it grew hard being stuck because I don’t want to be indoors all the time and I miss my girlfriend :(. I was looking forward to all the fun activities as well such as dances but it doesn’t look so promising anymore. It’s just hard to think the fact that one of the biggest ceremonies of our lifetime is looking like it’s going to be held online too so that sucks.”- Erik Le