It has been almost more than a year and a half since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States. For some students, this pandemic has fostered positive changes and shifted the way they view and value relationships.

“I did grow really close to one of my friends and she was probably only one of the few people I texted as often as I did, and we really bonded over a lot of stuff. I shared a lot of stuff with her and she shared a lot of stuff with me too, and that was really nice,” senior Mahek Jani said.

Senior Tabiya Laskar believed that in some cases, in-person schooling caused relationships to fade easily, but online school had strengthened them and allowed her to see which ones really matter.

Tabiya Laskar said “I had friends who I was in touch with, but we’d lose touch really quickly, but during COVID[-19] we kept in touch and we still do, and our relationship has grown stronger. I’ve come more to the realization of which relationships really matter and which ones are more important, and I definitely put more importances on some relationships than others.” 

Not only were friendships built upon, but family also got the chance to strengthen and get closer to one another. Some positives included being able to spend time with each other when usually they weren’t able to, having designated places for family activities, and being able to talk to each other about more things and connect.

“We just bonded more and spent more time together doing things that we love,” Laskar said.“Before COVID, we were running around having all these extracurricular activities to do, and being stuck at home definitely made me value family more.”

According to Jani, the pandemic taught her to not only value her relationships with others, but the one with herself as well by increasing her self value and reaching her potential.

“I got more self confidence in my personality and abilities in school. I’m always comparing myself to everyone else because I’m surrounded by people, and it was always in the back of my head ‘oh they’re doing better than me,’ but since I’m not around people as much or communicate much, it was just me doing my own best,” Jani said.

Most importantly, for some students, online learning and being at home allowed for some serious self-reflection and realization of which relationships held value.

“I’m not as dependent on my friends as I thought I was because I was doing just fine by myself. It felt nice to focus and reflect on myself and that I spent a lot less time thinking about how others perceive me and trying to impress them,” Jani said.