With Niles West going mask optional, there has been some controversy surrounding it. Some have decided to take their masks off, while others have decided to keep them on. But personally, I’ve decided to take off my mask. 

There are multiple reasons why someone would take their mask off. I have decided to do it because I have had COVID before and it was bound to come off sooner or later. 

Since I have been exposed to the virus more than once, my body has made memory cells. So if I was exposed to COVID for the third time, these cells would recognize it and tell my immune system to make antibodies against it. Because of this, the probability of me getting COVID and it being worse than in the past would be a low just because I have had it before. The times I have had COVID-19, it wasn’t that bad. The first time I had it I just felt like I was tired and a little bit light-headed. I also lost my sense of taste and smell, which I got back about three weeks later. My second time getting COVID hit a little bit harder, but it only lasted three days. After that, my nose was just congested, but I still had a sense of taste and smell. I am not that afraid of contracting COVID because I have already dealt with it in the past. 

Being in this pandemic for 2 years has made me realize that eventually we would return back to normal. Meaning, we can’t spend the rest of our lives wearing these masks. Also, with vaccines improving and being more accessible, it is definitely safer than it was a year ago to go out without masks. Spending half my high school dealing with e-learning, taking off my mask gave me a sense of normalcy. It’s been a while since I’ve talked to people without seeing only half of their faces. 

Although I have decided to take my mask off, I will still respect others that have decided to keep it on. In addition, the choice to wear masks or not shouldn’t be a huge issue because, at the end of the day, we must respect each others’ choices and should comprehend that we all have reasons behind doing things. If you are uncomfortable with someone not wearing a mask around you, don’t talk bad about them. Instead, approach a teacher and tell them your concern so you can be switched to another seat.  

I believe we should just respect others’ choices and not make wearing or not wearing a piece of cloth a big deal.