One thing that is most important to me is the human connection. It is what the world thrives upon. I use human connection to connect myself to other people and to learn more about them. I use the human connection to make friends and socialize. When COVID-19 struck us, human connection seemed out of my reach. We had to stay quarantined. Do online school, stay in our homes with absolutely nothing to keep us entertained. Human connection, it felt like it was gone.

The cafeteria. It was once a chattering place, friends gossiping and sharing rumors about one another disappeared until school was able to resume back to in-person learning after the quarantine and online school. Now, I could sit next to my friends and talk about our weekend plans and what we should do during recess. Human connection relived inside of me again. I was happy to socialize and talk to other people again. I get to share a classroom with my peers, get to know more people on a personal level and see them face to face. I get to hang out with my friends after school and work on projects as we did before. Human connection, it has returned.

School field trips. All were canceled when COVID-19 first started. This year we were able to go on field trips. I was able to ride a bus to Scicon, which is a weeklong science camp. Some kids did not get the opportunity to experience Scicon last year or the year before. At Scicon, I was excited to extend my human connection with my classmates in another learning environment. I was able to talk to other girls I was sharing a cabin with and enjoy watching the little fights some would have over a pillow. I was able to walk on trails with a group of other students from different schools. Human connection, it has brought us together again.