March 19, 2020 was just the beginning of school closures and quarantines due to the Coronavirus. Many issues resulted from this pandemic, but one of the least talked about issues worldwide is the mental and physical health of students. 

    According to a New York Times article over the mental health impact on students in a world so upside down, the virus is taking a huge toll on young people’s mental health. 

    Students aren’t only cut off from friends, family, and classrooms. They are also cut off from teachers and staff who offer kids guidance and  help with self esteem issues, as well as helping them learn to cope with trauma in a healthy way. 

   “Whenever all of this first started, I felt like I had no friends. I felt sad because I literally couldn’t do anything or see anyone,” sophomore Mila Saldavar said. 

Being a young adult and missing out on half of your high school experience due to a pandemic is hard. Coping with that and dealing with the stress of grades weighing on your back  while attending online classes isn’t easy, but some are just now getting the hang of it. 

   “ Getting the motivation to get out of bed and to do the work is difficult. Some days I struggle with depression becuase it is all so overwhelming, but I have more time  to get my work done and more time to spend  with my family,”  senior Destiny Luna said. 

    Surveys have reported that  83 percent of students that have already been diagnosed with mental health conditions claimed that they have worsened due to school closures. Surveys also report a decline in passing grades. Students are struggling to learn the material as well as they did pre-pandemic. 

   “A new study suggests that the Coronavirus will undo months of academic gains, leaving many students behind,” Youki Terada, writer for Edutopia said. 

   Unlike the gains before the pandemic, all averages in both reading and math are predicted to drop to only a 66 percent gain in reading and 44 percent gain in math.

   “I basically didn’t learn anything while completing lessons online because I wasn’t at school to hear the lessons and see the examples. It was hard because I couldn’t ask questions–so stressful,” Mila said. 

   The Coronavirus is not only strongly affecting how much students are learning in online lessons, but the virus also plays a big role on the mental and physical health of students across the world.

    Many mental health conditions have skyrocketed since COVID-19 first began, The biggest one being anxiety.

    “ I already had pretty bad anxiety but because I’m not getting enough interaction as I should, or used to get, when I go out now, I get worse anxiety than before,” Destiny said 

   While having many negative effects, some students see not going to school as a positive in some aspects, but still struggle. 

   “Not going to school kind of helped for the better because I don’t have to go see people that make me feel insecure all the time, but the class part is still mentally challenging ,” junior Brooklyn Terry said. 

   Classes even seem more challenging during online courses. 

  “ Some classes I’ve struggled with more than others, like my math classes. It’s harder because you can’t just read and understand stuff like that, the teacher has to walk you through it,” Brooklyn said.