Freshman Classroom photo by Advisor Scott Nairne.  

San Luis Obispo High School’s current freshmen have received a welcome different from any other in history: their first impression of high school was through a screen.

However, with vaccines in California being quickly distributed and a promise of “normalcy” to return mid-June, does the Class of 2024 feel that their high school experience has really been affected? 

Expressions: How do you think your introduction to high school has been affected by the pandemic? 

Freshman Tess Bolster-White: It doesn’t feel like high school or even school at all. There’s no social aspect, and it doesn’t feel like learning either. 

Freshman Skylar Navarro: The introduction to high school over Zoom was awful. Trying to meet teachers and peers was very challenging and was very hard over a computer screen.

Freshman Benjamin Graham: My introduction was kind of screwed up, I never got a proper orientation and lost a lot of connections because of it. Other than having to wear masks at school, I don’t think a ton was messed up but the good parts were.

Freshman Joaquin Barba: My introduction into high school has been affected greatly by the pandemic, and in many ways I didn’t think possible. I was not able to see many friends during the lockdown and lost a fair amount of social skills.

Expressions: Do you see the rest of your high school experience being affected? How? Do you see this affecting possible future college experiences?

Bolster-White: I think it definitely stunted the ability to extend social outreach because nobody makes friends over Zoom, and the difficulty with grades has set me back a ton.

Navarro: I think the rest of my high school experience will be affected a little bit, but not a lot. Having masks and social distancing is affecting my experience now and I’m sure will in the future. 

Graham: I don’t see the rest of my high school experience being ruined. I think that with the vaccinations coming out so fast that my high school experience will be back to normal by next year.

Barba: I doubt my high school, or college experiences will be greatly affected by the pandemic. I will most probably notice subtle differences in my school years that were the outcome of the pandemic, but nothing strong enough to make an impact on my future or current life.

Expressions: What have been some positive and negative aspects of being introduced to high school through Zoom? Or has it been all negative/all positive?

Bolster-White: I think the negatives outweigh the positives, but it isn’t all negative. My sleep schedule got better, I started running and hiking, and got better at baking and writing. I’ve struggled with staying in touch with people and keeping my grades up, but I have improved some skills I just never had time for.

Navarro: Doing school over Zoom was purely negative. The wifi glitches and getting kicked out were the worst. Also trying to pay attention while at home with lots of distractions was so difficult. 

Graham: I think some of the positive aspects of being introduced to high schools was sleeping in later. I didn’t have to get up as early and I had more time to rest and I felt more energetic often. The only negatives I saw about it was it was difficult for me to learn, I didn’t get to see my friends often.

Barba: Positive aspects of online school are, ability to pursue more non-school-related activities, being able to sleep longer, being able to eat when I wish to. Negative aspects are a distance from society, distance from friends, losing social skills.

  Though this year hasn’t been easy, freshmen continue to be optimistic about the future of high school life and beyond.