Wondering, worrying, waiting: A 5th grader reflects on life during a pandemic

Dhira Khosla

Jia Ramakrishnan is a fifth-grader at Havens.

In 2019, if you coughed or sneezed or whatever, someone would just say “Bless you!”, you’d grab a tissue, and then move on. Now if you just sniffle, people are gonna slowly back away and go grab a hazmat suit.

A normal day used to be you going to school, high-fiving your friends, and a few hours after school maybe getting some dinner at a restaurant. But now you’re isolated at your house, high-fiving is basically forbidden, and eating at a restaurant? You’d have to be out of your mind.

“Normal” has a whole new meaning I could never have imagined.

The coronavirus is everywhere. It’s crazy. It’s scary. Our schools are shut down and everyone’s working at home. We get assignments by email and Google Classroom but that’s not the same as real school. Everyone wants to go to school, but no one wants to get sick.

Every day it gets worse. Every day it gets crazier and more scary. I wish it was all over.

I’ve always wanted to live through a time that would go down in history. Now that it’s actually happening, I really wish I could take that back. Someone else can live through a time that will go down in history.

All I want is for things to be back to normal. The real normal. Not this nerve-racking, insane normal that we’re living through right now.

I hope doctors come up with a cure, and soon. Then all of this will be over.

I hope we get back to school in time to have at least some more school until the next school year. I hope I get to go to school for at least the last few days.

I hope this all ends soon. I hope a lot of things will happen in the next few months.

All I can do is wait.

Have thoughts to share about life during this pandemic? We’ll do our best to feature. Email: news@piedmontexedra.com

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