After over a year of quarantine, Downey High School has finally returned to in person learning in some capacity. Though many eagerly rush back to the campus they left last March, other students have chosen to remain in distance learning. There reasons vary, but they have all to complete this year from home. 

Though numbers for Covid have seen a significant drop in the past month, there are still those who fear the virus is not done with us yet. As appealing as a return to campus might be for junior Aidan Gauthier, the potential risks repel her. 

“A third wave may come and I would contribute to that if I went back to school” Gauthier said “I do [not] want to go to school for a few weeks just to prolong my stay at home.” 

While health is a justified concerned for many who choose to stay in distance learning, some remain at school for more personal reasons. After nearly all of junior year has passed her by, Hannah Wrath, 11, sees little reason to return for two short months. 

“I’m staying home because there isn’t really that much time left in the year” Wrath said “My junior year already got messed up from covid so there’s no redemption in going back really.” 

Though many of those who have not chosen to return to campus do so with an air of resignation about them, there are those who make that choice with decidedly more optimism. For all it’s negatives, quarantine has afforded many of us opportunities we might not have had otherwise. Senior Raziel Caro Ramirez merely wishes for this time of personal discovery to last for as long as it can.  

“School is almost over and the time distance learning has given me to figure myself out” Caro Ramirez said “This time I get to hang with my family before college is something that I want to last longer.”