Niles West decided to start the second semester of this school year in a remote environment. Although many students were dismayed about this decision, personally, I believe this was the correct choice.

Since the start of the pandemic, I have always been insistent on following COVID guidelines. Living with someone who is at high risk of contracting the disease has made me extremely cautious when going outside — including whenever I go to school. As a social person, I enjoy being able to see my friends and teachers in the halls. Over remote learning, something I missed the most was bonding with my peers.

Although there are numerous benefits of being able to see friends and teachers face to face, there are also many dangers that I, personally, cannot risk. I truly enjoy being able to see my old friends in school, but unfortunately, the pandemic has led to an underlying anxiety that constantly worries me.

As I have been checking the number of COVID cases, I have become increasingly worried about attending school. There are numerous students who do not wear their masks properly, and although I keep my mask on as often as I can, there are inevitably times where I have to drink water or eat. Seeing that I am a fully vaccinated, healthy, young person, I am less concerned about my wellbeing, but more for those I come into contact with who are at high risk.

I have lived with my grandmother for my entire life. As an elderly woman, her immune system has already weakened, and she is in no shape to tackle a virus like COVID. Due to this, I was relieved to hear that we would be remote, even for just a short amount of time — this would give people at school time to recover from the illness before returning, lessening the chances of passing on the sickness to someone else.

There are definitely numerous students at school who are in similar situations as me. Staying remote during dangerous times would help to keep countless families safe, including staff and other peers. If everyone at school were to follow precautions — even during remote learning — we would be able to comfortably return to in-person much faster. In order to gain normalcy at Niles West, we must first tackle the pandemic in an efficient, perceptive way.

Overall, I believe schools should be in person when cases are lower and vaccination rates are higher. I trust the school to make the right decision regarding going remote, as they did at the start of this semester. The pandemic is hard for all of us to accommodate, and I hope we can continue to tackle it as a community.