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2020 wasn’t chaotic.Like every year it too had pros and cons but in a greater intensity.It was the last year of my school as I am in 12th standard.It was a great loss for me as far as I’m concerned.A great bundle of memories is lost.After some years if I think about my 12th life...my mind would be blank because the memories are just of online classes.As a Science student I wasn’t able to do experiments with chemicals in my school until Feb 2021.Lighter moments with friend and teachers were a great missing.I’m a person who loves to explore the world through different angles.But 2020 didn’t gave me a chance to fulfill that dream of mine..But a ray of hope is there that 2021 would help me to give life to my dreams.

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As horrible a year as 2020 may have been, I think that there at least a few good things to come out of it.  First is the closer relationships I've been able to make with my family. Being at home all the time has made us all closer and allowed us more time to spend as a family. We also welcomed an addition to our family mid December, who hasn't stopped reminding us of his presence.
I've also gained a greater appreciation for the people who have had to adapt the most to these uncertain times. People like nurses, doctors, teachers, and parents. 2020 has shown us all how fragile our way of life can be and just how resilient we need to be to take it back.

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Thinking about what we have gained in the year 2020 is not easy, but I would most certainly say that I have gained the ability of understanding the boons in my life, taking one day at a time, realising the importance of my loved ones and making the most of all that God has blessed me with. I believe that the world as a whole has again, gained these qualities for this year has been a rollercoaster ride and has shown the various ups and downs life can present and most importantly, how to stay strong and steadfast during all of them. Thank you!

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The year 2020 was a difficult one. Rather, it was a different one. Thinking about the number of times we have heard the term unprecedented makes us all smile. I believe we have lost many things in the year 2020. Some of them were materialistic, some were intangible. Thinking about the world as a whole, I believe that we have most certainly lost the feeling of taking things for granted, the feeling of not appreciating the gifts God has given us and most importantly, the feeling of not staying strong in the times of adversities. To mention the tangible, worldly things we have lost is also noteworthy. Many celebrities have passed away, many close friends and relatives have lost their lives to the coronavirus or some other illness or tragedy. However, 2020 has taught me to not count the items, people and things we have lost, rather appreciate all that we have. Thank you

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Besides the positivity, 2020 brought a lot of sadness and lost.
I couldn't see my grandparents for a long time which hurt me because I was used to be with them everyday, although I know it was safer and for their benefit.
My friends and I were together everyday during and after school and during quarantine we lost a lot of good moments that we could have had.
As a society we lost a huge amount of lives, the economies of every country were severely affected and the idea of interpersonal connections will never be the same.

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2020 was indeed a remarkable year for everyone. In my case, I was very lucky because none of my family members or close friends got COVID and everybody was safe.
In the beginning of the year, covid was not a problem and everyone was living their lives normally.
In march we the lockdown started and unlike what I thought, I didn't have much time to rest because I was overwhelmed with my school work. However, there were a lot of positive parts in it, me and my family spent a lot of time together playing games, baking cakes and doing family activities. That made me very happy, because with the amount of work each one of us have, sometimes we cannot spend as much time together as we would like to.
Also, I could carry on with my workouts and my lifestyle became healthier.
In terms of personal traits, I've gained a lot more maturity and learn not to take things for granted and not to plan too much everything because life can change at any time.
Now talking in a world- scale, I believe everyone learned more about themselves and the society itself. We could see that people are too focused on themselves and the consequences of it are very dangerous.

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Lost- I’ve lost that feeling of talking to another person other than my family. Going to school and meeting friends, having fun, playing around etc. I lost a very dear family member. Lost that sense of time and going outside.

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2020 has been a topsy turvy year and there have been lots of things that I have learnt and lost at the same time
Gained- Learnt how to cook simple foods, clean the house. I’m basically ready to live in the forest like a survivalist. I’ve been able to participate in a lot of competitions to improve my strengths. I’m thankful to be part of this project which is one the most important things I’ve gotten. I’ve been handed new responsibilities and roles. Learnt a lot of gratitude and patience

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Hnin Thet , Myanmar , Ayeyarwady, Gaygue 

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Hnin Thet , Myanmar , Ayeyarwady, Gaygue 

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However , 2020 was a blessing in disguise . I have also gained a lot of things too. In the meanwhile, I had the chance to participate in a lot of English global programs. I had enough time to focus on English because all the schools were closed . Moreover, I had time to reevaluate myself, to think carefully about what I want to be, and to plan for the future.

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Hnin Thet , Myanmar , Ayeyarwady, Gaygue 

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Hnin Thet , Myanmar , Ayeyarwady, Gaygue 

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2020 was a really hard and harsh year not only for me but also for everyone. I lost my precious time with my friends. I lost my chances of traveling places. Sometimes ,I even felt hopeless. Luckily , I didn't lose any close family members . It is enough for me . I am also sorry to those who lost your close family members. The sun always shines after the Storm. I believe this 2021 will be better and brighter for everyone.

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I have gained a lot of things in this year. First, I had the opportunity to participate in this project and to know you guys. Also, I've been able to spend more time with my family and with myself, trying to enhance my personality and to see life in a different way. Moreover, I've discovered some talents that I own but have never enhanced such as drawing and painting. Nevertheless, I experienced the new type of education which is the online ones. In brief, what I've gained in this year is more than what I've lost.

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2020 was really a hard and vicious year for everyone around the world. What I've lost in this year is time and my normal routine including going to school everyday, meeting my close friends and doing some school activities such as projects with schoolmates . Also, as a country, we've lost many lives not just because of Corona, this rough virus, but also because of "Beirut Port Explosion " . Moreover, the economic situation increased everyone's misery.

# data[].attributes.body
2020 was really a hard and vicious year for everyone around the world. What I've lost in this year is time and my normal routine including going to school everyday, meeting my close friends and doing some school activities such as projects with schoolmates . Also, as a country, we lost many lives not just because of Corona, this rough virus, but also because of "Beirut Port Explosion " . Moreover, the economic situation increased everyone's misery.

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During the last year, I have done a lot to improve myself. I participitated in many activities. I had more time to practice and learn languages. I became part of a community (online, but still) where everyone shares the love for music and I've made new friends there who are incredibly kind and encouraging and I'm extremely grateful for this. I got to spend more time with my family as well and I feel like I've been able to focus on the subjects I like and set priorities, something I wouldn't have been able to do if we had had in-person lessons. But the most important thing I've gained is probably an incredible appreciation of everything we considered normal before. 

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During the last year, I have done a lot to improve myself. I participitated in many activities. I had more time to practice and learn languages. I became part of a community (online, but still) where everyone shares the love for music and I've made new friends there who are incredibly kind and encouraging and I'm extremely grateful for this. I got to spend more time with my family as well and I feel like I've been able to focus on the subjects I like and set priorities, something I wouldn't have been able to do if we had had in-person lessons. But the most important thing I've gained is probably an incredible appreciation of everything we considered normal before. 

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I have gained a lot more self respect and confidence in my actions. I had a lot of issues when i was isolated but i have slowly become the person that i was hoping to one day be. I have picked up new skills and learned more about my self in that time than ever before (there wasn't really much else to do). I have also learnt a lot about the people around me and who i should be surrounding myself with.

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I have been in the fortunate position to not lose a close family member, however have lost a lot of time and connections with friends and family. I have grown apart with many of my closest friends throughout isolation and it is quite sad to see each other drift apart. I have also lost a lot of sporting opportunities, which i feel guilty complaining about, but it is still something that i have lost. I hope that in 2021 we can all make up for that lost time and opportunities that were taken away from us last year.

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I think last year everyone lost time. Time with our friends, our family, time to do what we wanted to and time in our lives.
I lost time and I lost somebody too. For who lost somebody too, I'm so sorry.
Last year snatched us everything, unless that's how I feel. Last year I lost any motivation and my energy for everything and everyone.
Last year I wasn't able to think of myself and anyone else. I threw my daily activities in the trash and I lost my discipline to make everything.
In other words, last year broke me down.
It seems look better when I hear is not just me who feels like that. But stills being the same.
I'm glad for who didn't lost somebody and still keeping up. Please keep going and try to be the most happily you could never be.

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Last year I had a lot of problems to overcome and I did so I think that's what I gained. Also I could say I spent my time in activities I don't regret of. I was studying lenguajes, improved my english, thought of myself and the things I want to do in the future and appreciate the people I've next to me. Honestly I think we've just gained knowledge. We learned how to survive a pandemic, how to improve in our activities, how to still studying, working and loving unless we were meters away.  Personally I  can say it's more what I've lost than what I've gained but it's okay because that's what the life actually is. Like humans we've learned a lot of so in the future I hope we can be a better humanity.

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I had more time to practice and learn languages. I became part of a community (online, but still) where everyone shares the love for music and I've made new friends there who are incredibly kind and encouraging and I'm extremely grateful for this. I got to spend more time with my family as well and I feel like I've been able to focus on the subjects I like and set priorities, something I wouldn't have been able to do if we had had in-person lessons. But the most important thing I've gained is probably an incredible appreciation of everything we considered normal before.

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I wasn't able to attend orchestra rehearsals, I wasn't allowed to visit my friends, I couldn't attend athletics training either. I nearly "lost" my best friend, the only person I truly trust and I wasn't really able to escape the arguments at home so my mental health has definitely declined. But looking back it's not as bad as it could've been, I didn't lose any family members and I was still able to work during the summer holidays. Still, it was hard to find motivation to get up in the mornings.

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When it comes to the things I gained, well, I'd say that for the most part, I understood that if a meteorite hit the earth, and we all had to evacuate and go into bunkers, we'd have no chance. In all seriousness, what is there to gain from just sitting inside the house? Sure I figured things about myself and how the world circles around me, but I personally put experience over all other factors of life, and well, definently haven't had much of that last year.
I hope that every kid understands out there, that in such hard days, they're not alone but just momentarily stuck in time. But the days are passing and eventually there will be a point where you will have to break out of the clock to truly breathe and realize that the world is changing. Hopefully you'll find your place in it.

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This year was special to me and I think it was for a lot of teenagers too. I lost a sense of what school is, since for the first couple of months we didn't had any online lessons, nor a efficient way to communicate with the rest of the school. After some time, we finally started to partially attending some of the school's programmes, however, despite that in time it all got better, nothing felt right, nothing benefited us, and I'm sure as many of you already know, how incredibly awful Zoom calls can be for an ordinary student to learn is. If they start participating, they might get targeted by the teacher to respond in the questions they ask, since the rest of the 20 or so students will not even bother to open their microphone or camera, and so on.
Now that's just for school. Although I'd love to talk about the story of my life for this year, it all comes down to personal issues, so I'm not going to bore you with the whole story, probably because I haven't myself figured out how exactly the year went by. Just, that I did a lot of identity finding, and really, I mean really, took my own personal time to understand my life, even if it was in horrible conditions inside the home with a pandemic in my country.

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I have gained new friends and grown closer to people who I never thought I would ever interact with.

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In 2020, I feel like I lost a very important part of my life. Seeing friends, going out, having fun, making memories. It all vanished when the pandemic started. Whenever I talk to my family, they say that the later years in were the most memorable, and they feel bad that our generation is going through such solitude. I've lost friends (both through Covid and because of loss of contact.)

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In 2020 I definitely gained a sense of independence and learned how to cope with my emotions. This year, I learned more about myself than ever before. I discovered that it’s okay to do things alone, and not to be afraid of it. I developed more of a self love and realized that at the end of the day, the only person who would understand me the most and be there for me was myself. 

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I think being alone in quarantine forces you to come to terms with yourself. You're forced to reflect on yourself and gain insight on who you are. I've definitely gained some perspective and time for reflection, as other classmates have said.

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All that I really gained from 2020 was time for myself, which in a way was a good thing and allowed me to reform myself in a way.

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I gained motivation to teach myself skills, and appreciation for what I have.

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What I have gained was a lot of time to self reflect on myself and being able to be exposed to more issues in the world this year. As well as a lot of time to myself has been kind of nice.
What we gained was to see how nice just normal life was and a saw a lot of change within other people this year.

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Katherine K., USA, Boston, Massachusetts 

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Katherine K., USA, Boston, Massachusetts 

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I am very thankful for the things I have gained in 2020. I may have lost myself at the beginning, but I gained a new respect for myself when I learned that I can stand up for myself and quarantine taught me that confidence is key. I gained relationships with some of the most important people in my life, connecting with old friends and making new ones, and becoming closer with my family.

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In 2020, due to covid I lost a few family members, causing me to lose some of my sanity, and putting me in dark place for a while.

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I personally have gained more than what I've lost. I've been able to spend more time with myself, and from that have discovered more about myself and hobbies I enjoy. I started reading again, learning to play the piano, photography, baking, and more. I'm very grateful that through this time I've been able to grow in a positive way and had the time and opportunity to do so.

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I personally gained a lot of time to spend with my family, which I really appreciated. With parents from work and siblings home from college, I got to spend much more time with them than I normally would have. I definitely gained a closer connection with my family, which I am grateful for.

I also think people in general gained a) a lot of skill with technology and b) the ability to spend time alone. Being trapped inside your home is isolating, but i think a lot of people got used to just being their own company.

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I have discovered much about myself personally and have been able to become a better person. I have had much time for self reflection and finding things I love to do with even a greater appreciation for it. Those escapes doing things I love have made this year somewhat bearable.

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With everything I've lost I gained a lot more. Surprisingly, this year taught me more about myself than any other year. I think that being in a set place for so long allowed me to build confidence and express my identity. This year went by so quickly but in retrospect it was incredibly long. I measured it through how much I was able to gain motivation to do things. I felt more ambitious with school work and extracurriculars. I got more involved with learning about world issues, that I steered away from before because I found it stressful and confusing. I got even closer with my parents which I didn't even think was possible because we are already so tightly knit. I made new friends who have helped me through a lot and even furthered my relationship with friends from my childhood. 2020 has taught me a lot, and I think that if I was able to get through a year of such turmoil and distraught I can get through anything.

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I've gained a dog named Maisie, and some of my friendships have grown stronger. I've also gained a therapist.

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I think I've gained apperciation for just normal interactions that are no longer possible

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I gained a lot of knowledge about things I wouldn't ordinarily think about. And I think our community has gained some type of relationship because of our need to work together during this. I also learned a lot about myself personally through this time

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Lockdown has saved me time and restored my creative energy in a lot of ways! I've also been able to be more active and present in GSA and really center myself there.

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In 2020 I lost some family members unfortunately, and I also lost a bit of touch with reality as the beginning of quarantine was very mentally draining (but ofc, it is slowly coming back)

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I gained a lot of self confidence and a new perspective. I feel a lot closer to my true identity than I did before because I was at home alone so much. Also my cat who i love a lot.

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Lev Sugerman-Brozan, USA, Boston, Massachusetts

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Lev Sugerman-Brozan, USA, Boston, Massachusetts

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Despite everything that we have lost in 2020, I think the thing that I have truly gained is a better knowledge of myself and who I am. This prolonged period of isolation has allowed us all to get to know ourselves better, especially when left alone with our own thoughts. 2020 was an extremely hard year for everyone, but I think that we will all come out of it as bigger and better people.

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I've gained a better appreciation for many aspects of life that I'd taken for granted before. 2020 was a year of great loss, but it's also taught us to appreciate what we do have, and to make the most of our quarantined lives.

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I gained a new outlook on life and the world. The terrible events of the year have forged a new understanding of the world and my place in it. The isolation allowed me to discover my true gender identity, and the hardships served as a crucible that hardened and reinforced my relationship with my boyfriend. After the events of 2020, I feel like I can survive anything.

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I lost a lot of connections that I didn't really have to put effort into maintaining during school.

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I have lost almost nothing except 1.5 crew seasons

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I have lost in 2020 was the normal rontinues and honestly the ability to be able to do actual school now. I couldn't play sports at all either. I am grateful for not suffering as muhc as other haves during the pandemic.
what we have lost is our complete normal life. Our complete ability to see each other safely. Mental health declining as well as with the death that came with this year. We took everything for granted that we would've never noticed without the pandemic.

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I've gained substantial insight of both my identity and goals, as well as self worth

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In 2020, I lost my regular routine and a few friends who I have not talked to in a while due to the pandemic. Overall I did not lose much but as a world I think we lost a lot.

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I lost some sense of organization, especially towards the beginning of the pandemic. I don't like online classes very much, since I find it harder to focus. It also has messed with my plans for both 2020 and 2021. Originally, I was suppose to go to a student leadership conference during the summer, and it got canceled due to Covid. I'm doing it this summer, but I had planned to do something else this summer to be honest.

As a whole, we lost many lives

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Because of the pandemic I've missed out on quite a few of the extracurriculars I would normally be doing over the summer and during the school year. I also, of course, miss my friends, but I think my greatest loss is those small interactions during the 4 minutes between classes and the acquaintances that I would talk to in that fleeting moment. It's a lot harder to reach out now since we aren't close, per-se.

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I've lost my routines and motivation, definitely struggling more in school then I ever have before, I lost what was a "normal" family life for me with the death of my parents marriage, and with all the stress I've definitely noticed a severe decline in my mental health. Also I had straight As last year and not so much this year.

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We've lost our ability to go outside and do activities we regularly would've. I think it's safe to say that the pandemic has turned our daily routines completely upside down.

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Something that I feel like I definitely gained is more rest in terms of sleep, as I used to only get like 5 or 6 hours of sleep a night. But now, since there's less homework, I'm able to have more time to myself and be able to get a little more sleep.

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In 2020, due to the pandemic, I've lost motivation, some friends, and my sanity! It's become extremely difficult to have to continue telling yourself to keep going with schoolwork because it seems sort of ridiculous, given the global context of what's currently going on. My immediate thoughts aren't "I have to complete this homework assignment tonight" it's "my mom's been going out a lot, I hope she doesn't catch this virus and dies."

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As a country and a world, we've lost a lot of lives during 2020 during COVID A lot of people also lost jobs, money, housing etc. 2020 was a year of pretty devastating loss, particularly in countries where the virus was mismanaged (like the U.S.)

I/ the whole world also lost human connection and our normal routines. I went from attending a school with 2000 people every day to not seeing anyone other than my family. The switch to virtual learning sort of turned my normal routine upside-down.

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As a country, we have lost many lives, and many people have lost their economic security.
I lost a lot of my normal routines, activities, and social connections.

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I feel like the most valuable thing I've lost is time with other people. Being that I am going off to college next year, spending one last year with people I have called family for years is what's most valuable to me, but being that we are in a pandemic , I've lost much of that time.

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To be honest, 2020 has been both the longest and the shortest year to me. I barely remember those first couple of months when things were still "normal." There has just been so much time that I've spent, virtually restricted to my home. I feel like 2020 was the year of missed opportunities. I wasn't able to go on my family trip to Kenya over the summer. It would have been my first time returning since I first came to the US. I was also looking forward to finding some kind of job or internship for that summer. All in all, I feel as though I've lost a sense of "normal."

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I think I'e lost a lot of connection with people outside of my immediate family, and I think not being able to see people in person has been really hard.

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I gained a lot of time to myself which was very appreciated. Its been almost a year so a lot has changed that I don't realize.

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I have definitely lost a lot of motivation I had. Once the pandemic hit I quickly lost interest in a lot of things I liked quite a lot before and I kind of strayed away academically.

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As I think a lot of other people are going to say, my daily routine was lost. Personally, I am a fan of routines, and my routine was great. Now, I guess during the school week I have a routine, which consists of sitting down for 7 hours a day staring at a screen, not very fun. I've lost the ability to travel with my family, we tend to go to 3 or 4 different countries during the summer and during breaks, in 2020 our big trip was supposed to be Italy, and now that can't happen. I've also lost the ability to go to my house in Canada, and it's not so much that but that my whole extended family lives up there, and I only get to see them twice or so a year so that was sad.

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2020 was a rough year all around for everyone. As the year progressed, I felt like I lost myself, I lost my normal routine when we were thrown into a full force quarantine, lost contact with a lot of my friends because most of the time we would only talk or really hang out in school. I lost one of the most important things when we couldn't play sports anymore because being with my teammates is what really brings me joy.

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I lost my chance at 2 very important things for my future. I lost the ability to compete at semifinals for the Massachusetts Education Theater Guild, an opportunity I may never get back. I also likely lost the exchange trip to Germany, a trip that I had placed a lot on. I want to go to school in Germany, and now with Covid it will be significantly harder to get to Germany before I have to decide where to go to school.

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What I have lost was my normal toniue as

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What I lost this year isn't nearly as unfortunate and sad as what/who others have lost. I haven't been as badly affected by COVID other than having to do school virtually and not being able to play my sport. I haven't been able to see my family as much as well as my friends. I think that I've been extremely lucky and I'm grateful that I haven't lost someone close to me. I realize that others have lost someone close to them, which is really sad and upsetting how many lives have been lost from COVID.

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I didn't lose as much as I think other people have. Over the summer I lost quite a few friends just from not reaching out to them and not being able to sustain an environment where we could interact on a scale like school provides us. I also lost the ability to have social interactions to the degree that I did before COVID.

As for what we've lost, we've lost our minds. There are so many crazy things happening right now, and while COVID was a catalyst, I feel like even without it, the elections would've been stressful.

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Lev Sugerman-Brozan, USA, Boston, Massachusetts

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Lev Sugerman-Brozan, USA, Boston, Massachusetts

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Essentially, many of us lost most of our activities and things to do during 2020. Whether it was a sports season, a summer camp, being able to see family, or something else, everyone lost many things during 2020. I think the main loss that I've felt during 2020 was the loss of my ability to see friends and family. This is the single most impactful loss that I think many of us have, and it has impacted all of us a lot during 2020.

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Throughout this pandemic I have lost a lot of my social abilities that I gained in 2019 and the beginning of 2020. I felt a lot less connected to my immediate family (aunts, uncles, cousins etc) and some friends as well. The beginning of March was especially hard after the loss of my uncle and trying to have a funeral while the new restrictions were being set in place. I lost a major part of my high school experience that everyone can relate too, I time that I looked forward to since I was little. But I realized how much more people have to sacrifice and me losing a part of my high school career is not as significant. The months after that I learned a lot more about myself and adjusted to the climate we were in.

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I think with the whole switch to a virtual setting, I feel like I lost more of my sense of time and really mental health. Everyday honestly feels like the same to me nowadays because it's always getting up, opening up my computer, and having classes all day on Zoom. Although the work is less, I feel like I'm more stressed because I'm worried that I'm not really learning as effectively as I would if I was in school physically. Especially since I'm taking AP courses this year, I'm also worried about how the exam will go and if I'm really prepared for that.

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Surprisingly, I've gained a lot personally during the pandemic, and so have most people. Particularly, if we look at the class of 2021, we gained a lot of opportunities. A basic example would be a rising number of internships and possibilities now that we're virtual and the ability to do multiple internships at once (shh). For instance, through that, I was able to save up enough to buy a new camera.

If I talk about "us" as the USA again, we've gained a new level of cohesiveness while also a new level of polarization. People are sticking closer together more than ever (quite literally as well with quarantining) and political sides are becoming more and more hostile towards the other side. Sure, it's both a good and a bad thing. The good? It led us to start protests and movements such as that of BLM. The bad? People like anti-maskers are a thing.

Again, the best we can do is hope for better in 2021, seeing that 2020 did have some silver linings. Hopefully that'll happen with this final thing we gained: vaccines.

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Personally, like Pin Yi, I also lost my old normal routines. It was difficult for a bit to get used to going to school virtually. A lot of motivation was additionally lost, with the thought that everything would be terrible. Things have undoubtedly improved, though.

When I say "us" as a collective, I'm talking about the USA as a whole. Clearly, we can quantify those who have sadly passed away due to the virus in 2020 (and now in the few days of 2021). We've lost so much more as well, such as economic stability, political stability, face-to-face contact with others, and more. Life certainly changed at a moment's notice. We adapted well, but only to an extent. I say this because of the people who still go out with masks or the people who don't try to stay safe. Because of them, we continue to lose more of the aforementioned things.

But hopefully, 2021 will be better.

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Though the pandemic was likely a huge hardship on all of us, I think there are some things that we have gained as well. For one, many of us probably have spent more time with close family than ever before--I know I have. Before, I was not at home most of the time, and when I was, I was usually too tired or too busy to be up for anything more than vague conversation. A lot of us have likely gotten new hobbies as well. For example, I have started baking during the pandemic, found it surprisingly enjoyable, and I think that this is something I would likely continue even after life gets back to normal (whenever that will be).

This might be just me, but I have actually gained some organizational/time management skills during the pandemic, because the relative freedom of online learning has forced me to structure my time effectively myself. As a result, even though I still procrastinate, I have actually slept better than I have throughout my entire high school career, while still completing my assignments on time.

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In terms of what I, personally, have lost, I think the biggest thing is the loss of my "normal" routines from before the pandemic. School is one of them; even though everyone is trying their best to make online learning work, it still cannot really replace full-on in-person learning. There is a net loss of learning time, for one, and extracurricular activities (especially sports) are severely restricted. Another thing is simple human interaction--I have not met up with any of my friends physically since March, especially since for a while, even going outdoors made me anxious. Other things include eating out at restaurants, going on evening strolls around Boston Common, visiting the library, watching a movie at theaters, et cetera, et cetera. By themselves, these may seem small, not really worth fussing about, but together, they add up, resulting in a drastic change in lifestyle.

In terms of what we as a people have lost, I think the biggest thing is lives. About 1.87 million people have died from COVID, and that is just the official stats. I believe that the real number is far, far higher, especially if you take into account the deaths that were indirectly caused by COVID. Furthermore, many people have lost their jobs, and too many small businesses have closed permanently. In addition, the inequality gap between the rich and the poor have only gotten wider, especially since the rich are more likely to have job that are "work-from-home," and online learning favors well-off students, who have reliable access to WiFi and a quiet space to attend class.

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I have gained political knowledge and weight