Covid-19 was the worldwide pandemic that shut everything down for six months. There was a lot of uncertainty, and many were scared. I remember the day Pennsylvania announced it was shutting down everything except essential businesses. No one knew how long this was going to last. Everything was unsetted. Everyone felt unsteady all the time. No one knew this was going to be a little sickness that affected the whole world, and would kill over 1 million people in 10 months.

We had just finished dinner, and the news said that PA was going into a “Stay at home” order. My parents left and went to buy groceries that could last us a long time. They came home and we unloaded them, sanitizing each one after it left the bag. We had never been more unsure if we had enough, but we did not want to leave for more knowing we could contract this sickness even from touching things at the store.

The grocery store became a maze, with direction lines all over the floor. People were not allowed to walk the opposite way of the arrows, and if people missed something, they would have to walk the whole way back to the other end of the store. This was something new everyone to adapt to.

Weeks went by until we eventually started online school. It was very stressful learning a whole new system so quickly without much help from school. Trying to stay entertained without being able to see friends or family was not easy as well. We played a lot of board games and card games during that time. We even got things ready for the start of summer, spending days in the garage changing oil and getting gas to put into tractors and dirt bikes. When the weather began to get warmer, we were able to enjoy the outdoors with our dirt bike and go on walks and runs, but my summer did start with me crashing my dirt bike.

When summer finally, we could finally plan vacations and see friends safely after quarantining for two weeks before we saw each other, and we only only saw those who did the same. I planned a vacation with a friend in July and then with my family in August. We had so much fun on both trips. I went to Ocean CIty Maryland for a week with my best friend, Kenzie. We stayed with her parents, her brother and his girlfriend, and spent all day in the water or social distancing safely on the beach. With my family, I spent a week at our cabin in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. Although I had a trip planned to go to Honduras to help families in need, those plans were cancelled due to COVID. (It's riskier when there for people who get sick because they don't have adequate health care.) Little did we know that this sickness that shut everything down, was not going to end in six months. This would become our new lifestyle.

~Makenna Davis