2020 has been considered a rather bad year, but it wasn’t as bad as some people make it seem. With various COVID-19 vaccines becoming available to the public, the end of 2020 is really starting to look up. Even some people here at East had some positive things to say. 

     “2020 has been kinda bad for me, a lot of unexpected things happened that I didn’t really know how to handle and that I couldn’t control,” sophomore Zoey Wasinger said. 

     As far as good things, some claim that there are plenty to go around. Counselor Michael Chudomelka said the most important thing isn’t having many good things, but knowing how to look for them. 

     “So, it’s kind of weird to answer what are the positives, but being positive and finding those positives is pretty key. If you can’t find those positives, and you can’t find those positive things, then you’re going to find some things pretty hard to deal with.” Chudomelka said. 

     Additionally, Chudomelka follows his own advice. He says that it is great to be able to finally see others in person again, especially after being separated due to quarantine. 

     “Just having the opportunity to be in school, to see people to see students, to see people face to face has been great,” Chudomelka said. “As far as positivity, just taking advantage of the opportunities. When I tell my own son, who’s in college and got sent home and stuff. So even, with every situation there are positives, and I think you have to look at the perspective and try to find those positives.”

     Speaking of quarantine, sophomore Madison DeMeo said that while there were good things to happen in 2020, quarantine was one of her low points of the year. 

     “Because we were all stuck in quarantine for like so long, and we couldn’t, or weren’t supposed to, go out at all. And like nothing is like what it used to be, so it was pretty hard adjusting to that when school started again,” DeMeo said. 

     Many things have been changed in the 2020-21 school year, mostly due to COVID-19, and the consequences coming from it. 

     “It was such a disappointment, at least for me, and maybe not everybody, it was the disappointment to not be in school last Spring,” Chudomelka said. “And having to leave it hanging off of a cliff, we really didn’t know what was going to happen. I think being able to just be in the building was really welcome, because a lot of social things and personal things got shut down, even throughout the Summer. I think being able to come back here in the Fall was a good thing for a lot of people.”

     Through the 2020-21 school year at East, many things have changed, such as the way everyday is scheduled. Though it has yet to be seen if these changes are for the better, Chudomelka believes that these changes could be good for the school. 

     “I think we’ve all learned that we can adjust, that we can do things differently,” Chudomelka said. “For example, block scheduling, I’ve been here 20 years and it is something that hasn’t ever really happened. We’ve never done something like this, so I think being able to do that, and showing people that we’ve been able to do that is a great thing. I think the flexibility of students and staff has kind of come out. The ability of staff and students to be flexible and understanding of people’s needs has really come out in 2020.”