We can all agree that March 2020 and March 2021 have both been very memorable months that we will all remember. 

First it was the start of Covid-19 and schools shutting down. 

Now it is the start of everything opening up. 

When Covid first came to the United States it was unknown and information about it was changing every week. 

Now, although we are still learning more about the virus, we have gained a lot more information about it and are finally after a year moving towards normalcy. 

We still have a long way to go, but with the vaccine becoming available it feels as if there is a glimmer of hope that soon things will change. 

A few Dimond students shared their outlook on this past year and their feelings towards closing down versus opening up. 

Dimond Senior Jordan Corpuz said, “Slowly starting to open things up and going back to school is the step in the right direction,” 

Corpuz continued by saying she “is glad to be able to have her last quarter of senior year.”

“Even though we weren’t able to have a normal senior year, it’s good to at least be able to see and interact with students and teachers again,”

“It was really hard because it was such a sudden and abrupt change going from school to online because of this virus that was so unknown.”

Cooper Hamlett, a senior at Dimond, described going back to school as “surreal.”

Hamlett said, “It almost doesn’t feel real. After being home for so long and doing school online, being back in the classroom feels really different. 

“It could be just because we are back but it’s still not the same as our previous years in high school, but it’s better than nothing.”

Hamlett said, “Last year felt like a simulation.

“Going on walks with our families, lots of time outside, Cloroxing everything, Covid scares and just the overwhelming feeling of the unknown.” 

Covid-19 has been such a challenging year for everybody and each person has had a different experience with how it has affected their lives. 

Being able to see things start to change in a positive way, even if it’s just a small glimmer of hope, is really encouraging, especially after seeing lots of other countries handle Covid-19 in different ways, being able to open back up and limit the amount of cases and deaths in a day.  

Seeing the cases and deaths lowering per day in the United States and the hospitals not being as overwhelmed as they have been in the past is that glimmer of hope. 

Riley Mcmahan, a senior at Dimond, describes being back as, “Something that just feels right.” 

Mcmahan said that she’s just glad that she’s able to get the last quarter of senior year. 

Mcmahan said, “Although we don’t get to have our Senior Fun Day, our prom and assemblies like we normally would, we get to be back with our teachers and fellow classmates. Honestly that’s what I feel is most important for my senior year.”

The Dimond community as well as the rest of the world has gone through a roller coaster throughout this whole year. 

Just being able to be back in the building is a start in the right direction.

  Last year when everything first happened it was really overwhelming and unknown. 

We all suddenly had to go and do school online school. 

Our whole academic and social world was just completely changed and now a year later we are more aware of what the virus is and we have vaccines out so we are able to start moving forward. 

All that we can hope for is that we continue to slowly start opening up and getting things back to normal.