As of Tuesday, May 25, 50% of American adults are fully vaccinated against Covid-19. The CDC continues to release updated guidelines and it seems that, finally, things are going back to ‘normal.’ But are BSM students ready to go back to normal?

It’s been a long year of Zoom and social distancing. While students have missed friends and extended family, quarantine gave them the opportunity to spend time with themselves. Senior Lucio Fialo learned a lot about himself during Covid. “One thing that I learned over the pandemic was to really kind of… be calm with myself… and how to make myself happy,” Fialo said.

Freshman Emma Grniet also gained new perspectives after the pandemic. “I think I learned just to appreciate the little things in life. Not just going to school but…seeing your close friends or…being able to get ready every day. It just helped [me] to realize what’s most important,” Grniet said.

Through the pandemic, sophomore Cam Gage found a few things that were the most important to her. “Taking time for yourself. I think this kind of gave us time to step back and find things that are important to us. More self-care opportunities,” Gage said.

This past fall, because she was a freshman, Grniet had the option to begin high school completely in person, and, despite Covid protocols, she felt ready. “I was ready. Definitely, I knew it would be a change for everyone… but I think it was smart that the school had us going back in the fall,” Grniet said.

Gage started the year in hybrid but through accommodations was able to come in person every day. “I liked [hybrid] in terms that I got to sleep in. I think from a learning aspect, I enjoyed being in person better. It helped me be more social and focus on school. It was around wintertime, as I recall…I thought it’d be nice to get out of the house,” Gage said.

On the other hand, as an upperclassman, Fialo enjoyed the hybrid schedule and found it difficult to be in person every day. “Hybrid was really easy in the way that we obviously had those online days where we could just recuperate and… do what we needed to do. But going full-fledged back into school is really tough,” Fialo said.

Sophomore Cam Gage started the year in hybrid but through accommodations was able to come in person every day. “I liked [hybrid] in terms that I got to sleep in. I think from a learning aspect, I enjoyed being in person better. It helped me be more social and focus on school. It was around wintertime, as I recall…I thought it’d be nice to get out of the house,” Gage said.

Fialo, like many, has been vaccinated, but doesn’t feel like it’s right to hope for a life ‘pre-Covid.’ “I’m happy that we’re all kind of going back to normal but at the same time like covid is normal right now so basically saying going back to normal isn’t really the right word to say,” Fialo said.

Grniet would want to completely return to normal on one condition. “Once I get my vaccine…I think I would feel comfortable coming back,” Grniet said.

Gage believes some safety restrictions should stay in place this year. “I personally would like it to be the way it was, but I think that we should still wear masks. It’s going to be hard to get [vaccines] to everybody by the summer, and there may be some people who choose not to get the vaccine. I think it would be good just to wear masks,” Gage said.

Even though she wants to return to normal, Grniet wants some of the things she learned from Covid to stick around. “I hope that some…community carries over. I know a lot of people got closer to their families and so did I,” Grniet said.

As the world begins to return to normal, Gage also hopes the sense of community stays the same. “I would just say being there for each other. This is an opportunity to grow as a community. I think we need to carry that over,” Gage said.