They Say

We are going through history, they say.

Wear a face mask, they say.

Stay two meters away, they say.

Stay at home, they say.

Protect others by staying at home.

Mask: check.

Hand sanitizer: check.

Get used to the new routine: the new normal. Nothing is as it was, everything is in the past. Depression affects even more people than COVID-19 (sigh). No Hugging. No sharing. No... Nothing. Parents at home, no job. Teens becoming depressed. No cure. Why?

Schools don’t make it easier: ‘Pick your GCSEs. You're in year 9.’ Well, we missed half of year 8, but who listens to us. This is unacceptable. You are not putting enough effort in. Stop talking. Be quiet. Hugging my friends is against the rules. Bubbles. You can't mix bubbles. Mask, where is your mask? I lost it. Pay 50p for a new one. Wearing a face mask saves lives. Tests, Homework. (Sigh.) You don’t meet our expectations. Self-isolation, never got a chance to say goodbye. Missed tests, missing marks. Wonder if COVID-19 never existed. Never mind (sigh).

Home. Home is supposed to be a safe place and relaxing. Not in this case. Self-isolating is not what you think. Having symptoms take a COVID-19 TEST. Negative or Positive. Online lessons. Don’t understand a thing, Wi-Fi not working. Stress, can't sleep, can't do work. My routine. Never ending work, due... TODAY. Doing homework at 2am in the morning if I don’t understand the work. Not my problem, make it work, the work is straightforward. Going into depression. Why? Too many people expecting work from me. Will I meet their expectations?

Why did you not do my work? I have no time. Is your email working, is every platform working? No. Why did you not email me about it? You know you're at the bottom of your class? You need to do more work or else...Please make it stop. I can't take it anymore. Too much expectation. Suicide is not the answer. Many teens don't make it out alive, it’s too much for them. Expectations not achieved; goals crushed. Sometimes the best thing to do is ask how they are feeling and don’t judge them. (Sigh.) Yes, it’s a hard time for everyone, especially teens who need to do their GCSEs.