![Azalia Quinn fills out a mock ballot. On Thursday, Oct. 24 AP Government students did a pretend election to experience what it’s like. “If you can get [students] enthused about voting at a young age, the chances are higher that they’re going to continue this process throughout their adulthood,“ Brian Brown, the AP Gov teacher said.](https://mshsprospector.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/18FGwFbMo8mtfWGnVEvaqiODxDZhuV9ipRw3DAgL-1200x960.jpg)
It’s Corona Time with Mady Caywood
March 20, 2020
Day One
Today is Monday, March 16th and is the first day of quarantine for Manitou Springs High School (MSHS). I never in a million years would think that I or my fellow peers would have to experience anything like this. It’s definitely a change and an adjustment that everyone around me is getting used to and trying to find a way to wrap their head around it all. Personally, I haven’t really thought much of the spreading virus until everything started to become suspended or canceled, not only at my school but at surrounding places as well. I haven’t really started to take this seriously until the closing of school. I think not only me but my surroundings peers look at the next few weeks as time off of school, and that since we are young or we don’t know anyone with the virus, we aren’t too worried. I am guilty of this myself and am trying to work on becoming more conscious of what is the best thing to do for myself and others so we all can continue to live a happy and healthy life. Today I went and played some soccer with a friend. I made sure to hang out at home for the rest of the day to prepare myself for E-Learning tomorrow and to practice social distancing from others. This is definitely a unique thing to go through, and something that no one will ever forget. Stay safe and wash your hands! I’ll check in tomorrow. – Mady Caywood
Day Two
Tuesday March 17th is the date today and is the first day of online school for District 14. It was definitely a super weird feeling to wake up and be on a Group FaceTime call with your whole class. Though, it definitely made me realize how grateful I am to be a part of such a great community and have such great teachers and peers to help out one another during this rough and confusing time. The classes were super easy and a lot shorter than normal school, though it definitely made me miss being in an environment surrounded by people. I keep thinking to myself how weird all of this is and still haven’t really acknowledged how serious it all is. Besides keeping busy with school work, I am trying to find things to do that I normally wouldn’t have time for such as painting, or self care activities like taking a nice, long shower or doing a face masks. I know for people like me who thrive off of being around others, this time can be extremely hard and can make you feel a little down in the dumps. However, it has made me appreciate my family and things like social media for helping me stay in contact with my friends and family without actually being around them. Today I just kind of laid low, did some school work and made Tik Toks with my sister and dog. I’m finding it hard to keep myself occupied but it’s definitely interesting to push myself to be creative and come up with new things to do while being stuck at home. Today was a pretty chill day, but I know there will be many more days like this coming up. I encourage you all to try and stay positive and reach out to loved ones if things begin to feel difficult and disheartening. Remember to wash your hands and practice social distancing! See you all tomorrow, Mady Caywood.
Day Three
Another day being quarantined, and I’m finding it harder and harder to be productive and to have any motivation to do anything. Today is Wednesday March 18th and Manitou’s second day of online school. It was the same thing as yesterday, and it once again reminded me how grateful I am for the people I’m surrounded with during times like this. Today I went to the grocery store and was shocked at the reality of what I was seeing. I had seen pictures and videos of things being out of stock, but seeing it in real life hit me harder than I expected. I just still can’t get over how bizarre this whole situation is and that we are all actually going through it. Seeing all these people feel the need to stock up on things like there is more to come from this virus really freaks me out and creates a lot of fear knowing the future is honestly unknown. Something else that kind of bummed me, and almost everyone a school, out is that the governor declared the extension of suspension of school and sports until April 17th instead of March 31st. Not only did this bum me out because I can’t go back to school as soon, but my birthday is April 16th and I can’t be at school to celebrate it. This whole thing is becoming more and more real and is really starting to freak me out. I really hope this all clears up soon so we can all return to our regular lives doing the things we love. Please practice social distancing because the longer we continue to disregard the reality and severity of this, the longer we will have to go through it. Stay safe friends, I miss you all! Love, Mady Caywood
Day Four
Another day full of online school and quarantining and I am starting to feel like I’m losing my mind. Online school was the same, but other than that I basically slept all day and ate a ton of junk food on this fine Thursday, the 19th of March. I kept trying to think of things I could do, so I finally decided to paint to try and pass the time and get my mind off of things. Thankfully, it worked and took up most of my night. I think a lot of people, including myself, are looking at this time in a negative light and, don’t get me wrong, it is definitely upsetting, especially for seniors like me. But I encourage you all and challenge myself to focus and distract ourselves by doing hobbies and activities that we love to do while still being cautious. While I don’t want to face our reality, I think it’s important to stay educated on the situation and to enlighten yourself with ways you can prevent this disease from spreading or getting the disease yourself. I find myself really hoping for all of this to clear up soon and thinking about all the future things I wanted to do, such as prom and graduation, that are now up in the air altogether. I try to remind myself that I am extremely lucky to be healthy and alive during times like these and to keep myself busy until all this blows over. Hug on your loved ones extra tight today and tell the people that you love that you love them. Wash your hands fellas, we’re gonna get through this.
Day Five
Today, March 20th, was the end of our first week of online school. Looking back, I definitely like the freedom of this format of schooling, though I find myself missing people that I wouldn’t see outside of school and I miss being around people other than my family, who are beginning to drive me crazy. I went to Whole Foods today and was shocked, but not completely surprised, at the lack of food and supplies that they had to offer. After, my sister and I went to Trader Joe’s and I was mind blown at what I saw when in the parking lot. There was a line out the door and they were only letting a certain amount of people in at a time. It sometimes feels like the people in our own little world are the only ones going through situations like this, but a comforting yet freaky fact is that people all around the world are experiencing the same thing, some worse than others. Other than trips to the grocery, I have just been catching up on schoolwork and hanging with my family. As the upcoming weeks lure upon us, I just want to take a second to remind you all, as well as myself, that this is not a forever type of thing and we will all get through this as a community and as human beings. I wish you guys the best and have a safe and smart Spring Break! Stay healthy and optimistic, please practice social distancing and wash your hands! All my love, Mady Caywood
