The Email

By Ayana, Age 10

I walked out of the 3rd grade classroom door in March of 2020, oblivious to the fact that that day would be my last in-person school day. I was ready to go home and pack my bag for the very next school day. I saw my mom when I got back–she was working from home. Then I hung out on the couch for a few hours before we got the email that changed EVERYTHING. My whole family listened to my mom’s every word as she read out loud from her phone. It was going to be the first of many emails for the next two years. I tried to process those words in my head that night as best as I could. But they just didn’t make sense. Why me? When will it end? Once we were doing online school, I had to accept it. But pretty soon, I adapted to this new environment. I even made four new friends. I guess I could say it was going well. I had my family and friends with me to experience these crazy unbelievable moments.