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Honestly, I didn't find the beginning of the pandemic to be that stressful. I was just glad to have time off of school to reset myself and time to spend with my family. Looking back, I think the pandemic probably had a bigger effect than I thought it did at the time, and contributed to my more pessimistic view on the world, but back then my stress was more relieved than added to. -Lauryn

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The text evidence that shows that having social interactions is just as important as having food and water to survive is the quote, "If you die I would want to die too" (11), as Carter said. This shows that even though the characters may go one without the other and be able to survive with food and water, they would be happier dead that not having someone to always be with.

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I think that McCarthy is communicating that survival has many different aspects. Socializing and having people to talk to is just as important in keeping someone sane and alive as food and water is.

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Hope seems to be one of the major themes in The Road, as well as in this article. Hope keeps both the characters in The Road as well as Madeline Hill going in order to find a better future. Though they are dealing with very difficult realities, they keep hope that it will get better.

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Madeline Hill wrote about how she felt like a robot and never really felt like she did anything, which I definitely agree with. I was just trying to pass the time and never felt that I was putting my energy into anything productive.

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When we first went into lock down, I spent a lot of time with my family, which really helped me to feel less alone when I couldn't see my friends or leave the house to go places. I also made an effort to face time and text my friends as much as possible to keep some sense of normalcy.

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I learned to cope and adapt with the stresses of Covid-19 by spending a lot of my time outside and being surrounded by friends and family. I became constantly outside when the pandemic happened which made me a lot happier and started hanging out with a small circle of friends who all related to everything I was going through, and was able to be so much less stressed with them. -Giselle

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I can make a lot of connections to the article. Madeline Hill wrote about how she would never leave her room and was kind of a robot during covid-19. This is something that I can relate to, as during this time I kind of lived life without really thinking about was I was doing, and just kind of going through the motions. -Giselle

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Similar to the quote by Madeline Hill, I also never really did anything during the pandemic. I never felt as though there was a need to go anywhere aside from the comfort of my room. I'm still trying to get out of that habit.

-Connor

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Honestly I didn't know what to do with myself most of the time. Everything felt so exhausting without really being able to see anyone. I'm not sure if I ever really adapted to the Covid-19 world, it's just been really exhausting. The only thing that I have noticed myself doing more is watching the news or looking for information on what's happening in the world.

-Connor

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Both in the article and The Road, hopelessness is emphasized. In challenging times as this, everyone loses hope and accepts darkness. The mental health of the characters are shown through the "survival instinct" they need to achieve in order to stay alive.

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During the pandemic, I didn't really see the need to socialize with many people considering that everyone was quarantined. However, as time passed I learned that it was not a favor for my mental health.

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Much like the article, I noticed that I became less and less social and felt as if I was trapped inside my room. During the pandemic I started to fade farther and farther away from talking to people and just started doing the bare minimum

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At this point, it seems that a prevalent theme in The Road is hope. In the article, as well with my own experiences during quarantine, it was very hard to maintain hope in a time when the future was so uncertain. We had no idea as to when we would return to "normal" life, which made it difficult to keep a positive outlook. In the same way, the man and the boy have the overall hope of reaching the coast, but other than that, they have no idea as to what the future holds.

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A connection between the article was how the idea of pursuing and pushing through life for some hope in the future was something the article mentioned. Often during the pandemic, it felt like we were trudging on to a pointless world. Furthermore, it seemed how people remembered the struggles of the forgetten people became the essential part.

Sam

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Meads article was both extremely revealing and also easy to connect to. For me, the girl who talked about how she felt comfortable in playing the cello was relatable to me. While I did not play the cello, I found myself reading and writing a ton more than I did prior to the pandemic. I think with the pandemic being so depressing,finding something that I could take comfort in and be good at pulled me out of the isolation

Sam

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Survival looks and feels different for everyone, there is not a blueprint for how people make it through life.

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In the months to the closing of school, it was honestly extremely fun and  almost like a adventure. However, once those days stretched into weeks, into months it begin to become very scary. Not knowing what could happen any time you left the confinements of your home was terrifying, and having the possibility of my grandparents being sick was also scary. However, I learned that I could only control what I could control, if that meant wearing my mask or getting vaccinated etc.

- Sam

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Alicia Barton's comments about the impact of the pandemic on her friendships and social life really resonated with me. Being inside and isolated with my family for so many months definitely made me miss school and the daily interactions I would have with friends that I might not talk to outside of class very often. Thankfully, this year has been a little bit more normal, but the last two-ish school years have been really difficult without the ability to talk to people like normal.
Lily C.

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I relate to what was said by Jackson Chang. The quote that stuck with me was, "I kind of forgot how to socialize with new people." Before the pandemic, I was already an awkward/immature kid, so being isolated from real social interaction really put any chance of me developing normal social skills in a casket.amod

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In the months leading up to pandemic closing school, I was getting extremely overwhelmed with my out of school commitments and classes. I was getting home late and working deep into the night to finish all my work. Doing this for a long time, I found myself burned out. So in a cryptic way, the pandemic was a needed break to recenter my life. I started going on long bike rides which where somewhat therapeutic. amod

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I ordered a bunch of painting supplies and started painting everyday. Each painting for take about a day to complete so I was able to pass through the days more quickly. I couldn’t control the pandemic but I could control what I did with my life so that helped

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I made a personal connection to Alicia Barton in the article because she talked about loneliness. I could relate to her talking about how facetiming friends and family somehow made her feel more lonely and disconnected. We both stayed in our rooms most of the pandemic and rarely left to talk to others

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I COMPLETELY relate to the part of the article where Emmanuelle says, "When you live in an apartment, you're stuck with the noises that people make. When I close my door, I can still hear everything that's going on." This was a huge issue during the pandemic for me: I have anxiety, and I felt like I was constantly having a sensory overload. Despite not living in an apartment, my grandfather lived with us during the pandemic, and so there were five people and three dogs in our house. I felt so overstimulated constantly to the point where it would affect my homework, socialization, etc. I never realized mundane noises could put me on the verge of a panic attack until Covid-19.

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In the article, Zoe Dalzell-Sexton describes being in midterm season when the pandemic hit and the overwhelming stress of trying to prepare when the world around us seemed to be shutting down. I had a similar experience my sophomore year when COVID closed our school down just before AP tests. Preparing for the tests that I was taking and doing well was really important to me, and I felt like I had lost a lot of what I was preparing for throughout the school year. I found it hard to focus on studying and preparing while spending each day alone in my room or on a sketchy Zoom call away from my peers.

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The biggest lesson I had to learn at the onset of COVID was letting go of the need for control. Once I was able to let go of the tension this caused me I began to take things day by day and focus on the small things that brought me joy in my life. Cora H.

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I found therapy to be a really big comfort. It helped me create a schedule to follow so that my life seemed to be in my control when in reality it was out of my control. I also read a lot of books and classics, which is when I started to love reading so much.

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I also feel like I became less of a social person and started to drift away from facetiming my friends because it made me feel more alone.

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Survival looks different and feels different for everyone, and is harder for some and easier for others.

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I read more books. I used to read a lot in middle and elementary school, but as I've gotten older I've had less time to read, and I oftentimes would just be doing something on my phone. I think the pandemic really got me back into reading which was cool.

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I can relate to Zoe Dalzell saying that with covid life, in general, has gotten more stressful. Her parents got covid which made her and her sister have to do everything. For me, I got covid in January and because of this I couldn't go to a retreat I was having and was really behind in school ever since then things just seem more stressful and with finals next week it seems like there's no end and you cant catch a break.

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I'd say I'm a pretty extroverted person, and I love to be around my friends and other people. When the pandemic first started, it was definitely tough for me because I didn't get to spend any time with my friends, so I felt pretty lonely initially. This period of loneliness, however, made me realize that I needed to find more of my own hobbies and learn to be alone but not feel lonely. Like Emmanuelle, I started to explore my surroundings with my abundance of free time, taking long bike rides down Textile Road while listening to my favorite music.

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I'd say I'm a pretty extroverted person, and I love to be around my friends and other people. When the pandemic first started, it was definitely tough for me because I didn't get to spend any time with my friends, so I felt pretty lonely initially. This period of loneliness, however, made me realize that I needed to find more of my own hobbies and learn to be alone but not feel lonely. Like Emmanuelle, I started to explore my surroundings with my abundance of free time, taking long bike rides down Textile Road while listening to my favorite music.

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I just accepted the situation and acknowledged that I can't do anything much about it, except helping myself feel better. I cleaned my room once in a week and started to draw

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I had to create my own workout plans due to my coach not being able to keep contact with us. I had to breakdown mileage, speed, and endurance for every week. Although this was quite annoying I began to find quite a bit of joy in it because running became something I did for myself instead of others. It made me feel productive and in-control. I also painted a lot and hung out with my "inner circle".

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When the pandemic started, I recall the first few weeks as a peaceful bliss. I'm fortunate to not have experienced a lot of the stressors that others did, but instead I took the time to care for myself and focused on doing things that I enjoyed, like reading and running a lot. That's how I coped with such a life-changing event.

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I relate to Jackson Chang when he said “A lot of the time, I lounge around in my room and kind of just stare at my computer”. During the start of the pandemic I would just stay up late into the night watching random tv shows and YouTube videos.

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I learned that, in order to cope, I had to separate myself from all of the noise and excitement of every day life. So, I started going to the lake near my house every day to just talk with my twin sister. We listened to music, walked around our neighborhood, and did everything we could just for a change of scenery. I also realized I had to spend more time outside of my head to avoid overthinking and spiraling into anxiety. Finally, I had to make sure I was still distracting myself by involving myself in acting. Though this was such a hard period of time for me, I'm really proud of the personal growth I achieved during this time. It was also a great opportunity for me to reconnect with friends I hadn't talked to in YEARS since everyone was online now.

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When COVID hit, the biggest thing that impacted me initially was not being able to see my friends at school. At first, I spent a lot of time alone, waiting to see how the whole situation would develop, hoping it would pass. Over time, I realized that there were many different ways I could keep in touch with my friends while not risking our health and the well being of those around us with COVID, which included FaceTime calls, playing video games together, and more.

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I originally just stayed in my room and read a lot, but then I got bored and decided to get a couple more jobs. I think this really helped me cope because it forced me to do stuff and it was also a way to interact with people.

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A lot of the kids in the article were talking about how they become less social during the pandemic and I kind of agree. I have become at lot more attached to my family because they were the only people I could spend time with. I am very grateful that I live in a house with a yard and a pool, and I could go outside and walk my dog or just get a change of scenery. I couldn't imagine living in an apartment during the pandemic.

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I started to exercise more and focus on mindfulness. Music really helped me accomplish both of these tasks.

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I started to exercise more and focus on mindfulness. Music really helped me accomplish both of these tasks.

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I related to Tobias the most. They talked about how music became a huge comfort, specifically playing music. At the beginning of COVID I taught myself how to play piano as well as just playing the violin when I had the chance.

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Not only are these kids my age, but they describe the feelings I have gone through in a very eloquent way. Showing photographs of their rooms also allowed me to connect to what they found pleasure in.

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I found myself relating to Jackson Chang the most. I used to be very social but now I don't talk to new people like I use to before. I'd much rather be alone. I especially relate to the quote, "—I will just randomly be staring at my screen. Some of my favorite moments are when it’s 1 a.m." I too enjoy not going to sleep when I should.

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I was stunned by the beginning of the article, where they discussed the significant increase in rates of depression and poor mental health among teens and adolescents throughout the past several years, as well as the State of Emergency that was declared. I've definitely struggled with my own mental health during Covid, and I've watched my family and friends do the same. I think what has worked best for everyone has been reaching out to others, whether that be seeking professional help or simply talking with trusted individuals. This parallels with an important survival mechanism- working together- that may be apparent in The Road.

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I related to Joeli Valerio when she mentioned how the mundane activities of our day-to-day became a cycle. During the pandemic, I definitely got caught in the cycle of sleeping and staying in my room all day. Not being able to leave the house and see other people was really damaging. Cora H.

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At the beginning of the pandemic, my parents would buy an abundance of groceries so that it would last a long-period of time before we had to go out again. Not being able to go outside, I found new hobbies and used online media more often.

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I think along with some of the teens in the article, I found that it was just sad to know that you're missing out on experiences with your friends, and I also lost my work ethic so now I can't do work.

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I think when covid first hit it was drastic all of a sudden everything shut down and no one was allowed to leave their homes. For my family, all of my siblings came home and my house was full. I coped with this by trying to spend time with my family and trying to talk to people and reach out.

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I think McCarthy is communicating that survival isn't just reliant on food, water, and shelter. I think that the author emphasizes the love between the man and his son to relay the message that love is equally important to survival, which was such a relevant lesson for all of us during the pandemic. I think that living through the pandemic with a shortage of food or water would have honestly been easier for me than living through the pandemic without the support of my family and friends, especially my twin sister.

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I used my free time to workout, which made me feel productive and like I was actually doing something worth doing. This made me feel like I had some purpose for each day. Along with that I also started drawing because it was something I had never really done before or had the time and patience to do.

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The person that I related to most in the article was Zoe. I related to her the most because I agree that it was very hard to get work done, and even though we had less to do, it felt like so much more because of everything that was going on in the world around us. -Paige

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I could relate to almost everything the people in the article were saying in some way. I actually sort of enjoyed quarantine because it gave me an excuse to be the recluse that I am, but looking back on it it's honestly sad the way I spent what should be the most exciting years. But then again, I probably would have felt worse about myself since I did the same stuff I probably would have done anyway. -Lauryn

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Learning how to spend so much time alone in a productive way was incredibly hard for me, since before the pandemic, I was much more extroverted. As I figured out how I could be happy spending time doing things that benefited myself, like reading, exercising, or journaling, I was much more comfortable with being alone. Although it was definitely a struggle, I think the experience as a whole has made me less reliant on others for my happiness, which is a good thing.

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Being stuck inside, I tried to find something to look forward to everyday whether it was reading a new book or learning the xylophone. I guess there's a sense of productivity which makes everyday feel more conclusive.

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I started to run, not anywhere specific just around my neighborhood and the surrounding roads. It gave me a chance to go outside without a mask and feel like I wasn't trapped inside all of the time. The roads were empty and no one was out just the outside world and me. It gave me a sense of closure ----- CASEY ANDERSON

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I think a central idea to survival being communicated by McCarthy is what truly matters. It seems that the two protagonists are very close with few possessions, except for the things they absolutely need. However, even then, they still are constantly searching for how to improve their conditions. Additionally, defying odds and resiliancy may be a theme that continues to become more prevalent throughout the novel in the coming pages.

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Like a lot of people, I picked up a ton of hobbies to keep myself entertained. I started crocheting, and I also revisited a lot of old hobbies from when I was a kid. I did paint by numbers, filled up coloring books, and tried to teach myself to play piano. I also read a ton, and in the summer of 2020 I finished more books than I had ever read in such a short span of time.
Lily C.

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The pandemic was very boring and cramped in the beginning. But once school came back it became normal but it also wasnt the same. But the interactions were nice.

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I felt like what Jackson Chang said really resonated with me, as during the pandemic, I would just spend a lot of time on my computer. It was also during the pandemic where I started staying up to 1 AM, which were also some of my favorite moments with my friends.

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I related to when Emmanuelle said that she could hear everything going on in the house and everyone was there. When I had to zoom for school, I could hear my parents also on meetings or calls, and the house just sometimes felt cramped

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When the pandemic started, I learned to adapt and cope by doing things that I like to do. I started watching TV shows that I wanted to watch and played games that I wanted to play. I started going on runs more often and got lots of good sleep.

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I think I become a lot less reliant on other people for my own happiness. Since I couldn't see my friends and my parents were still working, I had to find other ways to entertain myself. I started to watch different shows, I started baking more and I spent A LOT of time outside.

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I empathized with the uncertainty that all of the teenagers felt in the New Yorker article. The beginning of the pandemic, when the world stopped, was especially distressing. COVID and the feeling of the pandemic will be a shared experience our entire generation can talk about for the rest of our lives. We've all constructed our own bubbles over the past few years, and deconstructing them now to return to a "new normal," whatever that means, might be just as challenging. - Jason Hu

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I really resonated with Joeli Valerio's excerpt, as she mentioned how much she changed as a person throughout the pandemic. I also feel like I am a very different person now than I was at the start of the pandemic, not solely to due to the change in time but also the unique circumstances I've experienced.

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Science fiction and post-apocalyptic novels have always tried to teach us something about our own real-life societies. In The Road, for example, the father and his son just try to survive day by day as society descends into bloodcults and marauders. In lesser ways, similar things have happened during the pandemic. The rise of tribalism and the focus on struggles of the previously-forgotten people ("essential workers") have become front and center in our cultural dialogue. - Jason Hu

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In the case of the article, each teenager experienced lockdown and it's effects in different but somewhat similar lights which is a connection I'd imagine to the other survivors, if any, are experiencing. Each teen had specifc coping mechanisms or reactions to the isolation which can be encapsulated by the different facets of the survival the protagonists will have to go through.

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I took up a habit of journaling to give myself more of a routine to follow. I also got lost in my hobbies of reading and watching movies which helped the time pass. I also went on a lot of late night drives with my sister just to pass the time and spend time with her.

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I instantly made a connection to Emmanuelle Bendheim because I moved into an apartment in the summer of 2020. I had never lived in an apartment before so it was a new experience. Emmanuelle is spot on about the noises in the apartment. Our next-door neighbors would blast music from six o'clock to maybe nine or ten. after a while I got used to it and even found comfort in knowing there are other people trying to make the best of their situation and being stuck at home. I think it's cool that Emmanuelle got to look out the window and see parts of New York, it sure beats staring into someone else's window and watching their cat make eye contact with you.

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When it first happened, I didn't really know what to do with myself. I'd kind of just sit around. But, once I realized that this was indeed going to last for more than 3 weeks, I started going outside A LOT and reading. Being outside helped a lot with just relaxing and same with reading. I also started working out in the morning, which is something I actually still do because it is my favorite part of my routine that was made during lockdown. Overall, getting into a routine and spending quality time with my family helped to relieve stress. (Julia Sesi)

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I made a connection to Alicia's part of the article in regard to friendships. During the heat of the pandemic, a lot of my friendships started to grow and some kind of ended. But, I actually do not think anything happened that wasn't supposed to happen. I feel that I grew a lot as a person from 2020-2021, and a lot of my friends grew with me and are now my best friends and some chose different paths and I don't see them as much anymore and I am fully content with that. (Julia Sesi)

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I coped with the stress with tiktok and my phone. While I don't think technology and social media are the answers to problems, I think that being able to create and express myself really helped me during Covid.

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When I read Madeline Hill's story, I thought of myself. Mainly the part where she felt like a robot. It was hard during Covid to not do the same thing every day. I felt like I was in limbo for those first couple of months.

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One immediate connection I noticed between the article and The Road was how challenging it is to survive during a time where life is unpredictable. In The Road, the boy and his father often don't know if they'll be able to eat, or the possibility of being attacked. Although it's significantly less severe, the stories from teens in the article describe a lifestyle where they're surviving, not living. They don't know if they'll see their friends or loved ones again, and the unknown creates worries that are so draining on mental and physical health.

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I have learned some big lessons from covid and the shut down in the spring of 2020. One of the biggest ones was that sometimes it is ok to be alone, and when you are alone you are able to learn more about yourself than you would think. Although it was a challenging time in terms of mental health, I have learned so much about myself in the process. -Paige

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I think Cormac McCarthy is communicating that there is more to survival that many first believe. While the characters have their basic needs, people also need to socialize. The mental health of the characters is just as significant as their physical health. Their loneliness would be dangerous if they didn't have each other. For example, the boy says, "If you die I would want to die too" (11) which shows that the pair be happier dead than alone. In order to survive they need each other.