Trapped in Solitude

Amid the struggles of the ongoing pandemic, junior has been fighting a battle of her own: isolation

At the beginning of quarantine mid-March, Lainey Callahan was optimistic, relishing her free time. She took her dog for walks, spent her time productively, “and had everything under control,” she said. But as online school began in April and she persevered through the new learning format, struggles began to develop.

She described how even her room had started to alter because of these newfound impacts. “[It] was starting to harbor a lot of negative energy, which fed into what was already happening mentally, I felt tired and overwhelmed all the time. Not by the virus so much but by simple tasks,” Callahan said. A feeling of hopelessness loomed over her from how little she was able to leave her house.

Callahan had little motivation to do what she knew would help, and instead turned to her phone and other means of distracting herself.

“It helped ease anxiety about piling schoolwork,” she explained.

Though, the feeling of isolation and exhaustion still persisted. Since then, Callahan has been trying to preserve her motivation and mental health. She is holding onto hope that things will get better.

“The fact a vaccine is in development makes me very hopeful that things will be able to start returning to normal soon.”

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