March 13 was the last day that students were in school for in-person instruction. Six and a half months later, students are still doing distance learning and it's unclear when in-person instruction will begin. For many students, this pandemic has been a tough adjustment with many staying home and away from friends to avoid catching the coronavirus that has killed 6,551 people in Los Angeles County alone as of Sept. 29. We asked teens what they have noticed about themselves during these months as they reflect on their time in quarantine.

Naamah Silcott, 10th Grade

"That day was really tough on me because it was the first real time that I took into account the color of my skin and where I'm from."

"So, in the beginning, it was super duper easy for me, since I really needed a break from sports. At that point in time, I was really discouraged and had no faith in my ability, despite it being my first year ever doing track & field. So, to spite myself, I would push myself too far constantly, to the point that I ended up getting shin splints. I probably wouldn't have stopped causing harm to myself if quarantine didn't happen. After about the first three weeks, I was starting to miss everyone I knew, since I tend to be a touchy person when it comes to showing affection. I also happened to be really unmotivated to do anything for the remainder of school. It was really nice though to spend time with myself and get to know more about myself.

Before the day of George Floyd's murder, I felt that the Black Lives Matter movement was slowly but surely showing its face to more and more people and George Floyd's murder was the spark it needed to become a full-on forest fire. That day was really tough on me because it was the first real time that I took into account the color of my skin and where I'm from. It was the first time I felt scared for my life because I had more melanin in my skin. I had a few panic attacks for the next day and a half because it was so overwhelming. I think it was a week after that my older brother started going to protests. Maybe three weeks after was when I went to my first ever protest. Both of my brothers and my mother went and it was honestly a very liberating time since it was good to know people cared about other people. There were police officers there but they were working in the protestors' favor, at least when I was there anyway. I went to a second protest that same day, this time I was with my older brother and my dad, and it was the most fun I've had with strangers for a while. It was a lot more like a parade than a protest but maybe that's what made it so much better.

After a while, I just tried to enjoy my summer. Keep in mind that during this span of six months I never worked out, so I was getting out of shape. I started doing light work outs after a while and continued that way until Birmingham gave us workouts. Over the summer, I took two classes: Financial Literacy and The Art of Animation. Both of these classes I found very appealing and rather interesting. Surprisingly, I found economics to be quite interesting and the animation class was eye-opening for me. Over the summer was the time I started to make food with my dad, and now almost every weekend we make some type of cake or dinner. Fast-forwarding a little bit, my birthday happened to be on the 5th of August. This birthday was probably one of the happiest I've had, since I actually felt like I had people around me I could call friends. I originally wanted to have a quince, but due to Ms. Rona continuing to stick to America (for obvious reasons), I wasn't able to have one. Never the less, it was very enjoyable. Then, school started. The first week was good but after that I've been getting rather unmotivated recently. I don't know what to do about it but we're figuring it out. I started playing volleyball again. I feel I'm getting back into shape. Chadwick Boseman happened last week I believe and that triggered a panic attack similar to the one I had at the beginning of quarantine. It hit me rather hard because I look up to Chadwick Boseman and look to him as a beacon of inspiration."

Stephanie Ortega, 12th grade

"...being home feels like I'm trapped and people are making it worse when they don't wanna wear masks in public!"

"The past six months have been the worst since I barely go out to be safe. I don't go to my favorite restaurants anymore. I barely see my boyfriend and being home feels like I'm trapped and people are making it worse when they don't wanna wear masks in public! What also sucks is that for classes, we have to just stare at a screen all day which for sure strains people's eyes. Overall, staying home helps others and make sure to be safe out there."

Giselle Khalil , 10th Grade

"I just want to be able to go back to school and play sports..."

"In the last six months, I have definitely learned a lot about myself, my parents and my friends. Everyone goes through different emotions in quarantine and for me the emotions were more negative than usual. I was having a harder time staying inside without being able to see the people I care about. It has all gotten better slightly because I am now used to it, but honestly, I just want to be able to go back to school and play sports, just like how things used to be. Social distance learning is the hardest phase in my life that I have had to adjust to."

Cameron Frank, 11th grade

"I’ve been spending my time and life with my family."

"My life has been pretty good in quarantine. I’ve been spending my time and life with my family. But I’ve seen some changes. I went from exercising often to not as much due to too much work and not enough time for my personal life. Since school started, it’s been more stressful."

Alan Ruiz, 9th Grade

"...I now have a newfound appreciation for something that I think we all took for granted, that being interaction with others in person."

"When quarantine started, I was excited because I would get to be at home with my mom and doing schoolwork without having to go on the school campus. Even when we started learning on Zoom, I was excited because learning on virtual meetings was something new. The excitement died down as last school year ended. I realized that in-person culmination and saying goodbye to my friends on the last day of eighth grade was not going to happen. My family did what they could to fill the void, which I appreciate very much.

When this school year begun, the excitement started up again because I was anticipating starting my freshman year. So far, virtual learning has been going pretty smoothly, even though there is the occasional WiFi issue. At this point in quarantine, I am definitely starting to feel sick of being home all of the time. I miss being able to see my friends, interact with them and the ability to go to places where other people are gathered, such as sporting events. I feel like people will still be very cautious even after the coronavirus is no longer considered a threat anymore. This pandemic has definitely changed the whole world. Something I have noticed in myself was that I now have a newfound appreciation for something that I think we all took for granted, that being interaction with others in person."