Mid-Hudson News has launched a “Student Journalist” section to allow elementary, middle, and high-school students to write essays or “news as they see it” for submission. The following is an essay from one of our “Student Journalists”, Skyler Zirbel.
Special note: The author’s 10th birthday is the same day this article published.
POUGHQUAG – The Coronavirus has changed everyone’s lives, and I mean everyone. Nowadays, it’s hard to think about the next time that you’ll ever have a playdate with your friends or go out to dinner for a special occasion. This virus can affect us emotionally and physically, but it is never too late to lose hope. And I tell myself that all the time.
COVID-19 has changed the way I live at home now. Both my parents had it, and it was scary. I remember laying in my bed at night and overhearing my mom and my dad from across the hall. Some nights, my dad couldn’t breathe correctly, and my mom would start to cry. It was terrifying. Terrifying.
Some nights, my brother would cry, too. For a while, my dad would have to stay in the basement. And when he did come upstairs, to eat or go outside, he would have to wear a mask and gloves. I wasn’t allowed to hug him, or even go close to him. It was hard.
Later, my mom got it, and there was no point in them staying in the basement. By then, me and my brother probably already had it.
Eventually, they started going back to work. That was also very nerve-racking for me, on account of my dad being an FDNY firefighter, and my mom being a detective in Poughkeepsie.
When my parents had the Coronavirus, it felt like they weren’t my parents. I know that is saying a lot, but not being able to hug them, or even go near them, is tough.
But after my parents got the virus, we just did what we did before they got it; we couldn’t see our friends, so we FaceTimed. We couldn’t go to the movie theatre, so we watched movies in our basement. We couldn’t go to the playground, so we did puzzles and board games.
As you can probably see, the Coronavirus pandemic has changed my life completely and probably has changed yours too. All we can do is hope for the best. Stay strong, because I know you can.
About the author:
My name is Skyler Zirbel. I am 10 years old and go to Beekman Elementary School. Some things I like to do are play soccer and softball, play guitar, hang out with my friends. Because of the COVID-19 issue, I can say goodbye to all that.
According to Skyler’s mom, the author loves reading books and writing stories. The young lady is described as “an old soul” that is very mindful. In addition to playing softball on a team coached by her dad, she also loves watching her brother RJ play baseball on a team also coached by her dad. Skyler loves playing with her dog Loki.
If you have a student that is interested in writing a submission, please send an email to bender@midhudsonnews.com and include a brief bio and picture of the student along with a note from the parent giving us permission to edit and post the story and photograph.
