by Kate King (‘26)

Over the past four years, people around the world have suffered under the contagion of the COVID-19 virus which has taken many lives, shattered the economy, and shut down schools. Now, however, for the first time in three years, the virus that took the world by shock seems to be getting better. In the United States, the Biden Administration declared in January that COVID-19 will no longer be considered a Public Health Emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023. Additionally, places like China and Japan have begun to lift their travel restrictions previously put in place due to COVID-19. Although the virus is perceived as seemingly “over”, many around the world still face issues of grief regarding their pre-pandemic lives. 

For children, COVID-19 hit them very hard mentally and disrupted their daily routines, damaging their sense of stability. Specifically, rates of anxiety and depression have gone up as a result of children being isolated from their peers in school. Plus, because students were forced to learn online they were not as productive, leading to a significant drop in standardized test scores. Helping students to “catch up” on the in-person time that they missed has been close to impossible for teachers as they have been given little to no extra time to spend with students to help them. Also, there has been an increase in teachers leaving the education field, increasing rates of stress for everyone. 

Adults did not have an easy time with COVID-19 either. With adults having a higher mortality rate for the virus, it was reported that similar to children, their rates of anxiety and depression also reached an all-time high during the virus’s peak. Additionally, the rate of inflation increased at such a heavy rate during COVID-19 causing many companies to unemploy their employees due to the increasing costs of goods and services. This caused even more issues for adults with children because with inflation it was close to impossible to find a new job to provide enough for the children. 

Now, as the world enters a stage of rebuilding as the COVID-19 virus has become less prominent, it is important to continue moving forward toward the future. Of course, this does not mean that what happened as a result of COVID-19 should be ignored. Instead, the grief and loss that many continue to face should be addressed and dealt with as it is completely normal and nothing to be scared of. By learning to understand what society lost during COVID-19 people can make better decisions for themselves and focus more on what truly brings them happiness. 

Even though the world’s “new future” will involve more precautions and protocols unlike anything that society has experienced in the past,  it is still important to respect the choices that people make. Whether that involves wearing a mask or choosing to not go to certain more crowded places (which are high-risk), people have the right to choose what they think is best for them. It is important to respect everyone and the choices that they make regarding COVID-19. 

The world will most likely never return to the state that it was in before COVID-19, and the virus will most likely never completely “disappear”. That does not mean, however, that the world will not be able to flourish. As society gets used to the new normal that is getting a booster shot for the virus every few months, and occasionally having to quarantine in the case of exposure to the virus, a new future will begin. A future where COVID-19 will not be forgotten and remembered as a challenge that was overcome.