Students crowded around on an early morning. Chatter and laughter fill the air as students walk down the endless hallways to find their class, where their teachers greet them with a smile. They situate themselves at their desk and think, “Where did all that go?” as they stare at the dead-end zoom class, sitting alone in their bedroom on a Monday morning. 

This is now the life of many students at Troy High due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which many students considered the end of their social life.  

Sophomore Leila Murray is one of the many students who have had their social life take a turn to the worst. 

“I miss the social interactions, ” Murray said. “It’s the little things I miss more than anything. The quick hello, laughing along to a joke, or just roaming the halls with my friends. I feel almost alone now. I have a few friends that I still talk to on a daily basis, but it just doesn’t feel the same.”  

Sophomore Zach Balcoff agrees with Murray on his school social life 

“Covid has highly decreased my school life,” Balcoff said. “I haven’t met and befriended one new person this year. You can’t really get someone’s number over Zoom without it being awkward.”

Balcoff has always been an active participant in school activities and clubs. He’s always loved the sense of community they seemed to have, however this year, he said it feels different. 

“They lack a lot of the ‘family’ feel clubs have… as well as a lot of activities lacking,” he said. “Student Government has had barely any events because they are mostly in person.”   

Senior Ahimsa Sathyakumar, also a member of Student Government, has something similar to say. 

“All high school clubs, especially stugo, have taken huge hits from COVID,” Sathyakumar said. “We really depend on other students so we were at a loss at first of how to try to find some sort of normalcy within all of these restrictions.” 

Sathyakumar goes on to say that despite the difficulties, the Student Government and many other clubs have been trying their best to adapt to an online setting. 

Similar to Balcoff and Murray, Sathyakumar missed the little things in school. 

“As a senior, I was honestly just looking forward to participating in all the normal high school events for the last time,” she said. “Mostly, I just miss the small interactions of a regular school day, like joking around in class, sitting with my friend group at lunch, and overall just being together with others.”

This new normal that many are living in, has made these students and many others feel alone and like they’re missing something when it comes to school.