As quarantine measures become the new normal, students at San Luis Obispo High School are beginning to get used to the unique circumstances, and while being stuck in a house with family 24/7 sounds absolutely liberating, some students have noticed less than desirable realizations during this time.

  “My mother—starved of the attention and conversation of the people standing quietly at the grocery store and the lovely old couple minding their business next to us at a restaurant—is constantly looking for someone to talk to. That results in me, sitting for 30 minutes (not) listening to her talk about this new type of oyster she read about, this teen mental health podcast I should listen to, or even her apparent inability to use a stencil,” said junior Sonja Cowgill.

  Similar to Cowgill’s discovery, junior Kaylie Hall has also discovered something new about her family.

  “My mom talks to herself while working from home, which I find annoying. It’s not even full conversations, but exclamations here and there,” said Hall.

  Along with these unavoidable family discoveries come unavoidable strange thoughts. Similar to “shower thoughts,” these new, yet equally unique thoughts allow students to take advantage of their extra time at home to contemplate the important things in life.

“Is the mouth the tongue of the lips? Are the lips the teeth of the mouth?” said Cowgill.

  As universal as Cowgill’s existential question was, Hall had something equally if not more relatable than that.

  “I honestly just think about how weird it is that this is all happening. Sometimes it hits me that we’re actually in this crazy, historical event and that there’s a terrible disease going around. It feels like something out of a movie,” said Hall.  

Whether students find themselves annoyed by family or in the midst of an existential crisis, it’s important to remember that everyone is experiencing this pandemic together, and together we will get through this.