Teenagers' slices of life during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Teen True Tales on Covid Times

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Mateusz Wanik &nbsp;&nbsp;We all know how unpleasant and difficult the time of Coronavirus outbreak is for us students. At first, no one took it seriously and everyone was looking forward to studying remotely, relaxing and playing games, but no one knew how it would go on. &nbsp;&nbsp;When the pandemic started everyone lived a normal life. We went out to play football, watch a film at the cinema or take a walk around the town together. Everyone thought it would soon pass and enjoyed their "free time" at home or with the team outside. When the national quarantine was introduced in Poland, no one was laughing anymore. It seems to me that everyone was bored with computers and Netflix after a few days of sitting at home. Personally, I was sick of sitting at home, I missed the time outside, laughing with friends and the outside world, which I could only observe from my window. Games weren't as much fun and the flat became a kind of prison.

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Damn lockdown In the time of lockdown I felt sad for not being able to see my friends and family. We had to take online classes.&nbsp;

Blackout&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;At school, I feel happiness, joy and responsibility, but I like that. But at home I felt sadness, annoyance and much more responsibility.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;I hated the lockdown, because I was at the computer all the time, which I actually like but I was tiredhof not understanding some subjects and the internet didn’t help. I remember that one day there was a blackout in Lustosa, and for a few minutes, we didn’t have classes. But the worst of all was not being able to be with friends and family.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Being a teenager during the pandemic was feeling many feelings at the same time. That is, it was something new that suddenly appeared. Nobody was expecting that! In the beginning, we were all excited. After all, what teenager didn't like the idea of staying home in the middle of a school year? However, it became very boring and tiring day after day because we always had the same routine. We couldn’t do anything more than be alone, each one in their own home. We didn't see the people we saw regularly, our teachers and especially our friends. What it's really, really bad because we were just 13 years old kids, and if even adults need to talk, imagine growing kids. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;On the other hand, even though we couldn't go out, we always stayed in touch. We talked for hours. We did our homework together, we saw videos and listened to music… From my point of view, the pandemic had a positive aspect. I've grown a lot, outside and inside and I learned to value life. Concluding, I admire the way teenagers deal with new situations and how they adapt to them, even if it isn't an easy task.

Being a teenager at this difficult time is not one of the best things we teenagers have. One of the problems was how much time we spent alone, which made everything even more difficult, like our self-esteem and our mental health which is the worst problem for a teenager. I see for myself, I have been feeling more nervous and less comfortable talking to people and trusting them, due to too much time I spent alone or simply with my family. This not being able to trust anyone, made me a much more nervous person with a simple commonplace situation, due to the accumulation of situations that stayed in my head. One of the nice things was spending more time with my family. The other good aspect was what time we were alone, I think it helped a lot to understand what we want to do with our life, like friendships that are real, in my opinion. However, I think that a pandemic had both negative and positive aspects, but mostly negative.

&nbsp;Hi everyone today I am going to talk about my adventure as a teenager during covid times. &nbsp;So covid as two sides: The bad because it took away from our school, friends, the opportunity to learn. We were so accustomed to going to school that we didn´t realize how important it was to us, we only appreciate things when they´re gone. The beginning was rough because it was something new. However, I got used to it and learned how to deal with it. &nbsp;The only good thing about it was that we spend a lot of time at home and with that, we got closer to our families because in our routine we are in a rush and we end up not giving attention to our loved ones. It also strengthened our society to overcome this situation because together we are stronger. All in all, that´s something that I wouldn´t like to repeat but I take a lot of advice from it like to never quit and believe in ourselves. One for all, and all for one.

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Adam Wyrwas When the pandemic started, the whole world changed. People’s life changed from different perspectives, for example because of this ilness many of us have problems with their health, we use masks on a daily basis and feel more isolated. We got used to the feeling of isolation and don’t want to meet with other people as much as in the past, so the social bonds are fainted. It became normal that people wear masks in every place. What is more, covid had a huge impact on economy of the world. Fortunately, most of the people don’t sufler from severe consequences of that illness. They recovered from a disease without having specific symptoms. However, some of us experienced bad symptoms, for instance lose of smell and taste, heart problems or problems with the lungs. At the beginning of pandemic times community were rebellious about wearing masks, they organised strikes. After some time, people started to obey the rule of wearing masks because they were scared of getting sick and staying on the quarantine.

Being a teenager has never been easy, but it doesn't get easier when you have to be a prisoner inside your house. I believe that Covid-19 had its positive and negative influences on all of us. On a hand, it was one of the worst things that I have ever experienced. Human beings need to communicate with other people, and even though we live in a world moved by technology, we still feel the need to see our friend's faces and smiles, we miss the hugging, the laughing, the squeezing, pretty much everything, School time was tough too, no one was fully prepared to work from home, we needed to learn new study methods and ways to improve our grades because paying attention while being in our houses is a really difficult task. As I referred, there were positive things about this world in quarantine. Continuing with the school subject, my school bought an extension from Microsoft, the Microsoft Teams, an app that has been great for us as students. It has been really fun to work with all these platforms and extensions, we kind of felt like adults, with online schedules. The last thing that I want to talk about is the time that I spent with my family. It's a fact that I needed to be away from my grandparents and distant family, but I could also be closer to those who live with me. When we had free time, we played board games and tried to make up for the lack of contact with the exterior world. I desire to finish by saying that everything that it's new, it's hard, but it can still be gear for all of us.

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As for me, I think there were positive and negative aspects about this experience and I'll share some of them in this text. For example, the loneliness that I felt was really bad. I missed my friends and my normal life every single day. Also, the fear of losing people that I love haunted me for a while. I missed going to school and having fun outdoors.

As we all know, the first year of this pandemic was very, very unusual. A lot of people lost their loved ones, their freedom, or even their lives.

On the other hand, I think that there was also a good side. For instance, the pollution decreased due to the fact that people stayed at home longer and didn't need to use carbon dioxide emitting transport as much. I'd also say that being able to spend more time with my family was a good aspect brought about by the pandemic. To sum up, the first year of this pandemic was a mix of good, bad, or even awful feelings. Being allowed to go back to school and to live an almost ordinary life again after this whole year has been really gratifying.

Experiences with COVID by Olaf Szkop For many people, the ongoing pandemic has been a time of challenges, depression, isolation and inconveniences. The constant reminders to wear a mask, lockdowns, increasing cases of infection, fatal cases too... It really brings you down. But I’m going to be the contrarian here and say that my experience, dealing with the situation was rather positive. Let me explain. I can’t really call myself a social person, so the whole isolation never really got to me and my daily routine didn’t change much. I already spend a lot of time at home by default, distracting myself with electronics. What did change, however, was the extra time I had as I didn’t have to commute to school. The hours I saved allowed me to get enough sleep and have more time to pursue my hobbies. Even more than that! I have to say it actually helped me greatly in my growth as a person. I could finally deeply reflect on myself instead of constantly occupying my thoughts with the duties of a student and I believe it was very important since I’m entering adulthood. With all the free time I found new passions, interests, simple things I enjoy. My mental health improved greatly during the most stressful time of my life. I guess you could say, in a twisted way, I am “grateful” for the pandemic.

The worst during the lockdown Before March 2020 everything was fine but it looks like that has changed…during the quarantine I became more sensitive. And with that came the guilt of the lack of self-esteem... the teachers tried to cheer us up with coloured backgrounds... but it didn't work.&nbsp;

During the lockdown I felt sad and I was looking forward to seeing my

friends again. When I got the news on March 8th, I felt like I was going to faint, not being able to see my friends for so long. Online, I felt like I wasn’t able to do the chores at home, not being able to do anything new, just looking at the 4 walls of my room. It felt like every single day was always the same.&nbsp;

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I felt angry. I didn't want to stay at home.

My routines changed a lot During the lockdown I felt a little isoladed ,because I couldn't be with my friends and close family. On March 8, the government decided to shut down schools. It wasn’t easy to sit at the computer, because we didn't learn the classes correctly and it wasn’t easy to be locked inside your home for months either.&nbsp;

Hi, my name is Miguel, I am 15 years old, and I will talk about my time in this pandemic times. I must say that I am in this pandemic situation about 2 years ago, although, I'll just talk about the first year. In the beginning, I even liked it, because I didn't do anything, I slept late, I played a lot of video games and so on. In the middle of all it I had online classes, which was crap because

I didn't learn anything, but okay, I carried on... After a few months, I was tired of being at home, I was tired of playing the same video games, I was tired of having that crap online classes, I was tired of all. All I what was go outside and see my friends and teachers, of course, I saw them in online classes, but it was for a screen, however, I was forced to stay at home, and I carried on...

I felt lonely. I missed my friends. I missed nature. I missed school.

During my lockdown, what happened was not good, because we were all at home and our daily lives were always the same. We were lucky to have devices and the internet through which we could communicate and also play with friends. The online classes we had were good to keep learning and teaching, but, on the other hand ,it was a disaster for some, because their grades got bad. I don't want to go through this again, because face-to-face classes are much better.&nbsp;

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Hi! My name is Patryk and I’m 16 years old. Today I’d like to tell you about the coronavirus pandemic. When the pandemic started I was in the 8th class of primary school. I thought that pandemic didn’t influence me because it started in China and it is very far away I thought it would end soon, it was just a flu. However it turned out otherwise. At the beginning, the goverment annoucend a 2 week quarantine. My friends and I were very happy because it meant 14 days of additional free time. Soon, we had to wear masks and gloves in every places to protect ourself from the virus. Everybody was very scared because almost everything was closed for example restaurants, schools, schopping centers etc. The situation was getting worse and worse. There were more and more infections and unfortunetly deadths. Everyone was at home all the time. They were leaving homes only to do the shopping or go to work. Meetings were prohibited. I wanted to meet my friends. We only talked on the phone or the computer. On the other hand, people had more free time. Thay could develop their passions, spend more time with their family and just relax. People began to take care of their health and they started appreciate may things. The quarantine had a huge influence on the economy. A lot of companies were closed and workers lost their money. Unfortunetly many companies collapsed. People wanted to help businessmen. They collected money for them and just bought their products. Everybody wanted to come back to normal life. Children and teenagers learned from home. It was comfortable because you didn’t have to get up early and go to school. Unfortunetly it had minuses too. Students had to spend more time learning and they had a technical problems for example broken microphone.The most importantly, they couldn’t meet together. Luckily everything is back to normal now and people are happy that they can go on holidays, go a party and do things that were forbiden during the pandemic. It was a huge problem that people had to dealed with. Patryk Socha

The last two tears have been very difficult for all of us, our routine has changed and there are things we can no longer do because of the restrictions. Being a teenager during a pandemic is pretty tough, but at the same time it's kind of fun, I think. Because of the pandemic, we were able to spend more time at home with our family, which is a good thing, but it also meant we spent less time with our friends and classmates. At first, when we were first locked up, it was fun, but then we got bored and had nothing to do except online classes. With time, we got used to the restrictions

 imposed on us and started to live a "normal life", always wishing that everything would go back to the way it used to be.

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About 3 years ago the world heard about a new virus from China. At the beginning people’s life didn’t change a lot. Nobody was scared and people said virus couldn’t arrive to Poland or Europe. How much they were wrong. After a few months there was the first infected person. First time when virus was in Europe people were very scared. They wore masks and stayed at home. Often all over the street was nobody. People bought a lot of toilet paper, pasta or canned food because they thought the world would fall and there would bo nothing in shops like in postapo films but for me that was funny. Next month, online learning started. At first most of the students were happy. We could stay at home all day, play computer games and lessons were just a formality. The exams were really easy with the internet or books when nobody controled you. I finished the 8th class with good marks but I was stressed how I would write the main exam. But after all it went well.

It was all very strange when it started, at least I didn’t understand how a virus that was in China arrived so quickly in Portugal. I received the news that we were all going to be in isolation through my father and I questioned him because I had many doubts, it was all new to me, one of the doubts I had was how we were going to have classes from home, at that time I already had na idea of the complication

it would be and it really was a problem, I feel like we lost 2 years of learning, it was very difficult to follow the subject and we all know that anything becomes a source of distraction at home. But I feel that I grew a lot during this time that we were isolated, despite having gone through very bad times, I feel that I got to know myself better and appreciate the time I take just for me. So for me, not everything was bad, it was learning to be what I am today.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qZilGA19L8">RAP SONG - Peter Michaels&amp;Friends</a>

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qZilGA19L8">this is our protest song</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qZilGA19L8">long time no see</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qZilGA19L8">where are you guys??</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qZilGA19L8">where are we?</a>

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Difficult times When we were confined, everything was sadder, because we couldn’t see our friends and teachers. We couldn´t leave our house, too, or

visit our family. We always had to sit at the computer, which, I admit, I really like, but I was tired of it.&nbsp;

Until the very last minute During the covid lockdowns, we all have gone through difficult times.I cried a lot. Because of that I started shaking and feeling like my heart was jumping out of my chest. Due to that I stayed day and night laying on my bed doing absolutely nothing, postponing my chores until the very last minute.&nbsp;

In my opinion, being a teenager during the first year of a historic pandemic is very boring and very very sad, of course, it has its positive aspects but most are bad. First of all, I hated taking online classes and couldn't learn very well and I had an old computer and couldn't talk to the teachers when I wanted to, which made me nervous. Another negative aspect was that I couldn't be with my

friends and had to be locked up at home all the time. Sometimes I would walk my dog which I love so much. On the other hand, this also had positive aspects, the main positive aspect was that I could wake up later and could stay in my pajamas, and could eat whenever I wanted. All in all, this was a very unpleasant "experience" and no matter what anyone says, taking classes at school is much better than taking classes at home, it seems that time does not pass.

Like any phase, there are good things and bad things, such as the pandemic Covid-19. At the time, I can say that I felt a little stuck, alone as if the world had ended, no one could be seen on the streets and if we left, we would have to wear a mask, just like now but a little worse. During this, we had to isolate ourselves and take online classes which I found extremely horrible. Besides being too different a teaching, I couldn't learn almost anything. Since I couldn't leave the house, I started to feel lonely because I didn't go out with my friends and didn't see that person in the family who lived far away and who everyone was playing cards with all afternoon. On the positive side I can say that, in my opinion, people mature more and have gained a little more self-esteem, failing to connect to the opinion of others.

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Adolescence is an age when we start to discover ourselves and this is not usually easy. When covid-19 pandemic came and quickly started to become a very serious issue, we were told to stay at home and adapt our routine to teaching or working at a distance. I think we all felt a very big impact, but teenagers were more affected in some aspects. Simple things end up becoming difficult for us, for example, to socialize and talk to people we have less contact with. During the isolation, we all felt more alone, sad, anxious, and all other feelings. On the other hand, we needed to learn to deal with our feelings and have spent time with our family. Normally, most teenagers end up moving away from their families and this time at home close to many families.

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When there was a high rate of people infected of covid, due to the fear, we didn’t gather together at homes or go outside for some entertainment. On the other hand, people cared about each other, even though they might have been infected. The part of our community who refused to wear masks caused a danger for other people. Adults who were involved in their professional lifes, were afraid of being sick and going on a quarantine because it would mean a waste of time and remote working for a period of two weeks. When children and teenagers went on remote on learning, they saved a lot of time for commuting to school and probably had much more time for studying, which can be seen as an advantage. Some people said that studying and working became easier and more comfortable. One of the most important consequence for young people is that during the pandemic it was impossible to develop social life, social competence. Those people lost some amount of time on sitting at home on the quarantines. Because of that, children and teenagers were in a way excluded from different types of entertainment. It was very difficult to maintain and develop one’s hobby and interests.

When I had to stay at home because of covid-19, at first it wasn't difficult but after a few weeks it became boring and repetitive. &nbsp;In my case I didn't learn anything from being home and having computer classes, I spent most of my time eating and playing with my friends, which was a lot of fun. &nbsp;

However, what happened in that period of time was strange but a new experience is always worth it and if it had to happen again it wouldn't be so unusual.

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Hi! My name is Pedro and I am 15 years old and I live in Lustosa. I am going to tell you everything about the positive and negative aspects of the pandemic. The covid-19 arrived in Portugal on 2nd March 2020 when a doctor was on vacation in Italy and a 33-year-old man was in Spain on work. The confinement for me there was a big impact on society. All people stayed at home, my parents had to work and I had to go to school but through my computer screen from home. In my opinion, the pandemic had some positive impacts such as the reduction of atmospheric pollution due to a smaller decrease in transport circulation, but it had its negative impacts, such as the death of several people and the contamination of others. I was lucky that my parents are not without work during the pandemic and also that no one has been infected with the virus because my family protected themselves very well.

Change of routines&nbsp;&nbsp; During my lockdown I felt sad because I did not do anyting I had done before. On the 8th of March 2020, during the 1st lockdown, lessons went online and we had to sit in front of the computer and I didn´t like it at all because we didn´t learn anything.

Looking always&nbsp;at the same&nbsp; &nbsp;During lockdown, we were always at home. We couldn’t see our friends, we couldn’t go to other places with our family and other people.&nbsp;I got up and saw always the same walls, walking along the same corridor to the kitchen and then I always connected the same device to attend classes. It was a little boring. On the other side, I felt relieved. I changed my daily routine for a more restful one. I got up, had breakfast, had classes, had lunch, then I had some more classes, did the homework and went to my bed to get some rest.&nbsp;&nbsp;An event that I lived during lockdown was that I had to help a friend of mine because he had a fire in the kitchen and was missing online classes and I had to justify his obsence to the teacher.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Lastly, the lockdown was good for the lazy ones and it was very bad for those who have learning difficulties.&nbsp;&nbsp;

These last two years have been very difficult for me and for everyone. Covid-19 arrived in an overwhelming way, destroying everything around them. We stopped doing what we loved most for an indefinite period of time and we also stopped seeing the people we love most, habits had to be quickly changed so that work, education, and family and family life could continue in a way that was different from "normal".

Our lives have been turned upside down in many respects, education, hobbies, habits due to the pandemic, the mask, disinfecting our hands, and much more. At the school level, it was very bad to have lessons at home because we weren't paying attention and it was too much to distract us. The health and preservation of t life of the population have been shown to be the most prevalent important to all. The care for the highest risk groups was added to the solidarity of friends, neighbours, relatives, and especially those who work with health, doctors, nurses and hospital assistants, and hospital assistants. The covid also had positive sides, the importance of family, coexistence, love for others.

The Window During the lockdowns , I felt great pressure in my life. When I was told I couldn't leave the house or be with my friends and teachers, it all came crashing down. One day, my body started to react strangely, my hands were shaking, my heart was pounding and my head almost exploded!!!&nbsp; &nbsp;I couldn't take it anymore, I was tired of always seeing the same scenery, always the same four walls I felt suffocating, I couldn't get out, it was as if I was trapped in a glass jar. I sat down to see if I could calm down, if I could stop the wave of feelings I was feeling and that's when I looked ahead, I saw my window…

Through it I could see everything, the animals out there free and the nature so calm. Everything I saw gave me peace. I couldn't stop looking and the more I looked, the more nature captivated me and after a few minutes, I could imagine myself out there free and happy, feeling the wind on my face and flying with the birds.

That's how I managed to calm down, to feel peace and from that moment on looking out my window became a routine and a moment of escape and dream...&nbsp;

Agnieszka Wnuk &nbsp; Covid-19 started in my last year of middle school. It was kind of hard even without it because I had to think about what high school should I go to or how to spend the last year with my middle school's friends. In my civics class, our teacher gave us short information, about what happened last week. When I first heard about a new disease, I started feeling anxious, and when the class was giving updates on it, my anxiety was growing. The day the first case was discovered in Poland I was scared that my family would catch it. When we first heard that we didn't have to go to school for the next two weeks, I was glad, because our teachers were, in my opinion, giving too much work. After a week they made it even longer and longer and when May started, I felt sort of numbness. I'm not exactly the extrovert type of person or someone who will willingly go outside, but I needed to spend time with other people than my family and my friends lived way too far to constantly visit them. I was feeling lonely, but at the same time, I was happy with no one bothering me. Because of boredom caused by sitting in the house, I started watching a TV program that helped me choose my current education path. I have to say it was one of the best aspects of the pandemic because I doubt I would choose the same path if it hadn’t been for Covid-19.

In 2020, the year the pandemic started, I confess I was terrified. To begin with, when the confinement started in March, I confess that I was even "happy" since in my innocence it would only be 15 days of quarantine. But then, things didn't go that way... We were all in the same boat, all isolated from our family. One of the things I missed the most was the coexistence I had every single day and I started not to have it. However, thanks to technology I managed to soften this effect, that is, every day my friends and I made calls for a long period, which was very good to abstain from everything that happened around us. Which was, that the number of infected, hospitalized, and deaths continue to increase. But I only felt the real impact when Covid-19 knocked on my door due to my mother getting infected in April. My mother, at the time, had to stay locked in her room for 1 month. What was very complicated for me, I missed being with her, but once again the video calls kept me closer to her. But not everything was bad, thanks to the confinement I learned to be more autonomous at home and create study methods, in addition, as we couldn't leave our district at that time, I ended up taking long walks and discovering beautiful places in my region. When the pandemic started, I was 13, now I'm 15. And unfortunately, we haven't returned to our "normality". But the good thing is that we've already been vaccinated and that makes us less terrified. Let’s see how this will all end…

When it was finally time to go back to school, I was in the eighth grade of primary school. Exams awaited me, but I was looking forward to returning to normalty. After receiving the results of our 8th grade exams, it was time to choose a school. I thought about it for a long time and finally I chose the Technical School No. 4 with the profile of Railway Transport Technician. I chose this profile because when I was little I used to play with my uncle's PIKO trains and I used to go on various trips by trains. Eventually, everything went well, because I got a railway scholarship at the state-owned company PKP INTERCITY. But Covid didn't leave us and the time for remote lessons came again, but in secondary school we already had a completely different feeling about it. We were still the same happy people as at school, because we regularly met, talked and played together during lessons and in the evenings. &nbsp;&nbsp;In the end, after these hard and not pleasant two years for me and despite the difficult situation in the world, I am happy thanks to the contact with people and thanks to my successes. Hopefully, the epidemic will leave us and the world situation will normalize so that everyone can be happy together with their loved ones.

Nightmare The two lockdowns were a nightmare. I had bad dreams all the time.

Freedom&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;This is a different bird from the others - a fragile, beautiful bird that doesn´t leave its nest. She is afraid of the world, of people. The freedom she feels is very little, she feels trapped, even when she goes to school.&nbsp;Over time this bird will grow and become more free.&nbsp;

Prohibition of life During the lockdown we couldn't leave the house. I couldn't visit my grandparents or go to the shops. It was like being in a very dark and cramped prison. I felt as if they were forbidding me to live. It was a horrible feeling.

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Kacper Woland Interviewer: So please, Casper, tell me how did e-learning affected you ? Casper: Well, that's not that simple to give a straight answer. At the beginning, it was something new and seemed cool. The possibility to wake up 5 minutes before lesson and attend at it. You could stay in bed or play computer games during all the subjects. To be honest I liked it, but now on I think it&nbsp;wasn't really the best idea. Maybe not at 100%, for example my math get worse&nbsp;because of that lets say ,,study type''. I should also mention the lack of psychic activity with friends was frustrating. I was going to the gym 4/5 times a week, but I couldn't play volleyball or basketball there with my classmates. Furthermore, I must mention here the lack of experience and perhaps maturity from some teachers. It wasn't often but once or twice let's say they were having good time in the garden while attending at the lesson. That was kinda rubbish from them. I was eating less because of e-learning and doing more exercise, so I built some muscles over that time, I definitely think that's a good point for that. If you stay at home on pc or even at your bed you don't really need to eat much after all, if you go to school and simply walk you burn a lot of calories that's healthy. Interviewer: I see, and what about the exams? Casper: Oh yea, I forgot about them. Well you know they didn't really matter during e-learning, after all let's be honest almost everyone were cheating or helping each in one or other way. Interviewer: So were you cheating all the time? Casper: No, not always. I had strategy. First I was doing that test on my own, and later I looked at the correct answers. Interviewer: But isn't that still cheating? Casper: Yea, it's still cheating, but not always. If I reached lets say 51%, so it's 3 I didn't change anything, if below I did change something and in need of higher mark of course I changed more. Interviewer: I'm sure it's better than just doing copy/paste, and can you tell me in short what were the worst 3 things in all of that pandemic school. Casper:Hmm just 3... that's not simple as you can see I named a lot of them but for sure I would pick:&nbsp;lack of PE, I didn't learn much, really... lack of school but what I mean is schools life, people and friends, definitely not some subjects. Interviewer: Ok I understand, well that's all, thank you very much. Now let's go on to our next quest.

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Once upon a time... there were some pupils, and some teachers, from two countries, who felt the urge to tell their tales about Covid times, putting forward slices of life by sharing their inner struggles, and shaping thereby a "new togetherness".

Suddenly, something has changed. The world will be different from now on, like in a sci-fi film. Have we changed, too? One thing is certain - everybody has a story to tell.

Life will never be the same. Our world changed. Teachers and students had to meet in a virtual classroom. First, it was awkward and after a while, students started to feel lonely and some even missed classes. Right now, we are happy to be back in our SCHOOL and meet "face to face".

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Teen True Tales on Covid Times

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Friends I just wanted to be with my friends and play football with them.

Perceptions and feelings&nbsp; During the lockdown the classes were taught online and that complicated the teaching ,and that`s also why we got apart from friends. Loneliness hit and sadness appeared.There couldn´t be any gatherings. We have always to sanitize our hands and wash them.&nbsp;

Missing things During&nbsp;covid&nbsp;19&nbsp;lockdown I&nbsp;missed&nbsp;playing&nbsp;with&nbsp;my&nbsp;friends. I&nbsp;also&nbsp;&nbsp;missed&nbsp;leaving&nbsp;the house,&nbsp;because&nbsp;we couldn't&nbsp;go&nbsp;out.

After some time a lot people got bored with staying at home, wearing masks and not meeting with friends or family. The strikes started, more people stopped wearing masks and they started meeting with each other. But the virus was still attacking and there were many infections. Life began to come back to normal but not completely. Still we had to wear masks in public places and some people got vaccinated. On the media, news about Coronavirus were replaced by other bad news. Last few years were the wierdest years of my life. I have never thought about remote learning, staying at home all day. But these were interesting years too. People supported each other and they wanted to be good for others. Filip Rupik

I spent the summer break with my best friend and I'm not going to lie, my social battery was on a good level again. I thought that after the summer the number of people catching covid-19 will be lower and lower from now and I didn't care anymore about the pandemic. Then the new academic year started and that meant a new school and new friends. I was lucky to meet two girls before we got sent to online schooling again. That time it affected me way stronger than earlier. From time to time I was meeting with my new friends and almost every day I was texting my best friend, but I could feel my mental health going worse. Regardless I didn't tell anyone about me feeling worse. I think at that point my numbness was the greatest of the entire pandemic period. I think back then it was the time when I started getting sick of being constantly at home and I always accepted the idea of meeting with friends. I also started watching anime at the beginning of 2021 and honestly, it gave me a little joy in life. My friend even started watching it after I suggested it and I had a new topic to talk about with her. At the end of May, it was announced that we were going back to schools and I gladly accepted that. I honestly think that on my first summer break in high school I was more outside of the home than inside. I suspect that it was an effect of me sitting constantly at home and honestly I was glad because of it. Now I'm back at online schooling and for now, I feel better than in a traditional school. I finally have time to eat breakfast or drink coffee without hurry. Even if I felt that my mental health was worse while we were locked at houses I can't exactly say that pandemic was the worst thing that happened in my life. I got a lot of new, happy memories and met new people.

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows though. There were many aspects that were very annoying and unpleasant. Wearing a mask, for example. At times it fell out of my pocket somewhere and I had to pull my shirt over my nose just to buy something in a shop or get on the bus once we started going back to school. People don’t really seem to care about masks unless it’s in an enclosed space, which I suppose is logical. There were people I know that got affected by the virus. I’m pretty sure one of my distant relatives actually died of COVID and my neighbor was in a condition so critical, she needed a respirator. Thankfully she recovered.&nbsp;You don’t really acknowledge the effects unless someone close to you suffers. All the numbers you see on TV or the internet are just statistics with no meaning when you can’t see it for yourself. One of the worst things that happened to me personally so far was getting quarantined because of a teacher in the school. I couldn’t leave my house for the few things that required me to do so and the police checked if I was at home almost daily. For 10 straight days! I’d like to go back to the topic of school. While the extra time I had with remote learning was great, I admit it did make me lazier at the same time. The quality and quantity of the absorbed information definitely decreased, while cheating on tests could never be easier. I even managed to pass math. While I was happy to have good grades, it did not reflect my actual knowledge in any way. To sum it all up. To say that the COVID pandemic is great would be ignorant and insensitive, but from my perspective I didn’t have much of a negative experience. Believe it or not, I quite enjoyed it. The most important thing to me was the “bonus” time I got to figure stuff out as I’m transitioning from a teenager, into an adult. It is the most crucial part of a human’s life and having as much leeway to get things right is invaluable.

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