Monday was my first day of my senior year, but it was also the first day since March 2020 where going back to school felt (somewhat) normal. Last year’s desk-shielding, social distancing, cohort-splitting craziness is finally over. 

Although the pandemic is not over due to a surge in the COVID-19 delta variant, Brea Olinda High School has created an environment where I feel not only safe to learn, but excited to learn as well. 

Between Link Crew welcoming hundreds of freshman to campus at the annual orientation; to ASB creating photo backdrops for each grade to take pictures in front of (pictures that have dominated my Instagram feed this week); and indoor sports practices and games resuming, BOHS — from its administrators, teachers, staff, and students — has created an atmosphere that emphasizes both school spirit and safety. So while COVID-19 still rages around us, it doesn’t feel like it does. 

And even better: Besides being happily overwhelmed with seeing 1700 students walking around campus, I got to meet my teachers face-to-face; sit in a classroom with more than seven students; and eat lunch with my best friends whom I hadn’t been to school with since my sophomore year. 

My first day back felt like a breath of fresh air compared to the last 17 months of mostly being stuck inside my house. I realized that going back to school in-person means I can celebrate my last year of high school having an actual high school experience, including rallies, dances, sporting events, and dress-up days. 

I am ready and excited to finally have a fun, safe, and complete year of in-person school full of new memories — senior-year memories — with my friends and teachers.