From the mouths of babes
By Vanesa Larsen
North Sanpete Middle School, 6th Grade
9-10-2020
My name is Vanesa Larsen and I’m 12 years old. I’ve never written in a real live newspaper before, but I did have my own newsletter last year in 6th grade. I’m going to be honest and there will be no filter preventing me from sharing my opinions.
Going into middle school has always been a daunting task, and now even more so. As a result I wanted to share my thoughts with someone other than my puppy-dog notebook, which I wrote in during the shutdown.
During the shutdown, I kept a journal. Little did I know that one day I would publish some of it in the Messenger.
On Mar. 13, I wrote: “The Corona Virus is super big nowadays. For me it’s not a big deal.” But later, that very same day I wrote: “School was shut down due to the virus. I’m still in shock about the whole thing, so I can’t say much.”
Mar. 14: “I’ll try to keep this journal updated as much as possible about Corona Virus. Why? Because it’s affecting more than just older people. It’s affecting K-12 by shutting down schools. It’s affecting parents by making them worried. Corona was a kind of joke before, but now… The schools shutting down makes it all the more real. Will this turn into something like the flu pandemic from 1918-1919?”
As you can see, the virus became real very quickly for me and I’m sure for others as well.
If you ask me, what we see on television and on social media is mostly about the negative people who apparently “deserve” to be on TV. Let’s not be those people who are not wearing masks because “we have our rights.” It may be interesting to see those kinds of people, but that doesn’t mean that it happens, or should happen, all the time.
I missed out on a lot of the sixth grade, especially since it was my last year of elementary school. I missed graduating with my friends, playing kickball against the staff and the maypole. There was even a time capsule that I missed out on. When school was ending, the students really had no idea. I want the adults to know that we kids have opinions too, but we might not share them the same way you do. We also know what’s going on and just take it differently.
Going to school this year, I feel that we’re trying our best to make it safe and comfortable, but then again it’s school and that’s a gathering over 100 people, I can tell you. Honestly, I am scared. Not so much of getting sick, but of school getting shut down again. It’s really weird being in a situation where my education is on the line. I’m one of those fortunate people who has always been provided with education, and it’s really scary knowing it could be taken away from me at any moment.
