This week I was able to sit down and “chat” (it was really texting because of school being closed and the remote learning status) with a fellow freshman, Kaelyn Patterson. Kaelyn is a 15-year-old basketball lovin’ teen. When asked what some of her hobbies are, she responded with “…playing basketball, showing horses, running, hunting, and showing lambs in 4-H.” Kaelyn has two sisters. Her favorite sport is, of course, basketball!

As we talked, I proceeded to ask her about how her life was impacted by COVID-19. She followed up with, “…I couldn’t see my friends, and I can’t participate in most of my hobbies (basketball, 4-H, and horse shows).”

After talking a little bit, she informed me about the schooling she is taking. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, her and her family decided to do the online schooling (through the high school) which is called Virtual Academy. What are some of the drawbacks to the online learning? Positives? “The biggest drawback of online school is not getting to socialize with anyone, especially my friends. Some positives to online schooling would be getting to complete the work at my own pace, being able to schedule my day how I want it, and being able to finish school work early.”

When asked how her life has been normal through this pandemic, she stated that it was normal in the way in which she got to see her relatives. Out of my own curiosity, I asked if she had any homework when it came to her school day. She concluded that, “I don’t necessarily have homework since all of the work is uploaded to the website, so I just go in and complete it whenever.”

I then asked her how she was handling the remote part of her schooling and the inability to talk with her friends. She said she is “dealing with the remote part of school well” because she likes how she is able to, “organize my schoolwork and plan out my week’s assignments…”

Moving away from the school side, I asked Kaelyn: If you could go back in time, what is one thing you would change? After a few minutes, she responded with, “…I would change…when the mask enforcement took place because, perhaps, if we would’ve gone into lockdown or taken safety precautions sooner, I would still get to be in school, participate in my hobbies, and see my friends.”

I also asked her less serious questions to help keep the mood light and easy-going. Kaelyn’s favorite color is either blue or green, it just “depends on the day.” Her favorite food is pasta, or noodles in general, but she especially likes chicken Alfredo! When asked what her favorite song is, she responded with “Cold As You,” by Luke Combs. Lastly, Kaelyn’s favorite dessert at the moment (so we can end on a sweet note) is Oreo pie!