With all COVID restrictions lifted, Lake Forest High School is back for a normal school year.  

From quarantine in March of 2020 to hybrid style learning in 2021 to fully in-person, a lot has changed. 

Teens are one group that struggled during the pandemic. Being at home took a toll mentally on many teens, mostly due to the loss of social connection with people in their lives. 

At LFHS, the isolation of the pandemic has led some students to now be more appreciative of the small interactions with friends and classmates that they used to take advantage of. 

“I’ve grown to value time with my friends and the activities I do in and outside of school a lot more,” senior Brendan Arch said. “I’ve now experienced how boring and tiresome life can be without all of that stuff.”

Other students have found that the pandemic was a time of personal growth.

“The pandemic has made me much more independent, I am self sufficient and enjoy spending more time alone,” sophomore Nora Sharman said. 

Last year’s school motto was “All In Everyday“ which encouraged students to step out of their comfort zones, especially socially. 

“I think people are more willing to make new friends like I am,” senior Liz Laughton said. “We missed being social for a year.”

Adapting to being back in school with over 1,000 other people may be difficult, but many students are trying to make the most of this year. 

Additionally, adjusting to regular in person school has also been a challenge for some students. 

“After online school, I think it’s been difficult for people to adjust back to how much more intense in person school is,” Sharman said. 

Due to the relaxed climate of online school, students lost some of their in person abilities that a regular school day requires.

“Overall I’ve noticed a lack of resilience and effective effort,” French teacher Madame Heather Song said. “For a year, school was really not that rigorous so for some kids that hit at a year where they were learning study skills and figuring out how to do things. They kind of didn’t learn those.”

Many teens missed out on fundamental lessons for school and work ethic since classes were virtual. This has led to less persistence in the classroom and students feeling the need to catch up on what they missed. 

For some students, it has been difficult to adapt to being back in school all day for 5 days a week.

“Some people have taken some good away from the pandemic but I also think there has been some students who feel more anxious being out of their house,” social worker Mrs. Maggie Harmsen said. 

There are positives and negatives to no longer being at home. ome people enjoy being back in the building while others miss the days of doing school from the comfort of their homes. Going back to in-person learning can take time to get used to but many students are enjoying their school social lives again. 

“I am so excited to be fully back to normal. I am also excited to hangout guilt and worry free!” Laughton said.