By Fiona Finchem, Staff Writer
It’s March 13, 2020 and you’re sitting in your fifth-period class, watching the clock, waiting for the final bell to ring when your teacher announces that all North Carolina schools will be closing due to the coronavirus. Your body rushes with adrenaline as you realize school is probably out for summer, just a tad bit early.
For me, my first thought was all the fun things I was going to start doing without having to go to school every day. The weather was already starting to get warmer and I couldn’t wait to hit the beach. I was beyond excited, making plans with my friends every day, up until March 30, when Gov. Roy Cooper released a stay at home order. I realized then how badly I wanted to go back to school.
On May 20, Cooper lifted the Stay at Home order and moved us into “Safer at Home.” Within a few days the bridges were open and the tourists arrived, happy to be out of their homes. It was like someone flicked a switch and we went from January to July in a blink. Beaches, restaurants, stores and ice cream shops were packed.
I could not relate to these excited tourists, finally getting to go on their vacations. My family planned a trip to Hawaii for spring break, but it was canceled because of COVID-19. We decided not to plan any other trips or anything exciting to do other than quarantine ourselves.
We wanted to stay safe.
Our only option of things to do was to sit at home and complete any online school work we had that day, and then sit at home some more. I began thinking of ways I could make this a little more exciting.
Besides doing my school work and watching Netflix, I tried painting on the beach, made bracelets, and started playing video games with my little brother.
My brother is 11 and for the most part, we’ve always gotten along. He spends the majority of his time in the TV room playing video games while on FaceTime with his friends. I decided I would join him so we could spend some time together. He taught me how to play many games like Fortnite, Call of Duty, and Roblox.
I was never very good but it would get pretty intense. We would play for hours on end, going from game to game, and we would sometimes place bets on who would win. I never thought I would find myself playing Fortnite.
I saw a few of my friends painting on the beach on Instagram. Without art class, I thought that would be a fun thing to try. I painted mostly what I saw around me, the sky, the clouds, and the seagulls. It sounds peaceful but it was actually pretty hard with the sand and the wind. I gave up on that idea and tried bracelet making, which was actually successful.
As soon as I finished my schoolwork for the day I would immediately try and find fun things to do but once school ended, it was time to get a summer job.
I started working at Seascape Golf Links in Kitty Hawk as a cart girl. I would bring people a golf cart, load and unload their clubs, and finally, wash, park, and plug in the carts.
I loved this job. I got to meet new people from all over the country, even some from other countries. Golf runs in my family, and my uncle was the PGA Tour Commissioner, so this started many good conversations with some of the golfers.
It was a pretty laid back job and on most days, I’d make pretty good tips. I was outside by myself most of the time, enjoying the sun when I couldn’t enjoy it at the beach. I even tried to pick up golfing, but it’s a lot harder than it looks.
I worked there for about two months before starting another job at American Pie, a pizza and ice cream place in Kill Devil Hills. This job formed many new friendships and I also found my new favorite pizza!
One of the most important parts of summer is having a summer job to make money for the rest of the year and developing better social skills. I wasn’t too excited about going to work about five days a week, but it was such a good experience. I got to meet so many new people and make new friends with the staff.
Nobody expected for this to happen to us, having to stay at home and keep our distance from our loved ones. I could have sulked in my room but instead, I tried to go out and have some fun by myself and with my family.
There’s always a way to make tough situations like these a little more exciting. I think I made the most of it.
Junior Fiona Finchem can be reached at 22finchemfi99@daretolearn.org.
