The parents and the adults

say that they understand, 
but they don't. I 
don't think they ever
will understand what the 
impact of this pandemic has been
on kids my age. We are
growing up,
still learning how to
forge our own paths in the
confusing forest that is
our social world. 

We miss our friends. And
sure, you can FaceTime with them,
but it's not the
same. You can only see their
face, not their body or
outfit. You can't say
hi to a passing person 
in the hallways, can't 
talk about the football game
with your teacher, can't 
wave or smile at 
random people in 
school hallways.

We miss our activities. 
Sports have to be 
shut down for saftey, libraries were
once closed, and you
can't walk with your
friends to raid the
candy aisle at the CVS
five minutes away from your house.
So online games become a
replacement, talking with people
we've never met to feel
some sort of comfort.

We miss the noise. I
myself miss the clamor of
babies crying,
loudspeaker announcements, and
squeaks of cart wheels in a 
supermarket. Now,
everything is quiet except for the
almost silent buzz of
temperature checks,
hand washing stations, and
endless newsfeeds screaming
COVID. 

We miss all the things
that we take for granted.
Seeing friends.
Learning in person.
Going places without
needing to worry about a 
virus that can
kill you and kill
your family.

We miss all the things
you cannot give us
right now.