Schools around the nation are seeing drastic drops in student’s grades, and increasing rates of anxiety and depression. 

Over twenty students and teachers at Camas High school admitted that they all feel more anti-social, more stressed, and have seen dropping grades.

While some students may enjoy the perks of remote learning, and even feel as if they excel online, others are struggling.

CHS Senior Chloe Parker said, “It’s really hard to get motivated. It honestly feels like I’m trapped in my house, I feel like I could teach myself everything because I don’t understand my online class.”

CHS Junior Brittyn Nguyen said, “I don’t feel as excited for life anymore because everything feels depressing.”

CHS Junior Gracie Berry said, “I feel sad and stuck in the same routine everyday oh, my grades have gotten bad and I feel like teachers have been giving a lot more work than what is necessary.”

CHS Senior Vivienne Funches said, “I have felt sort of depressed through most of this but, things are slowly getting better!”

CHS Freshman Sophia Wright said, “It is super hard isolating yourself and not engaging with people daily. It has been hard mentally adjusting to all of this.”

Many students also mentioned feeling more social anxiety due to the fact that they have been isolated from friends for about a year.

It is not just the students who feel this way. CHS staff and teachers experience the exact same feelings.

CHS counselor, Sarah Watra said, “Covid has impacted all students, staff, and faculty in some manner. It (Covid) has presented itself differently to each family and student.”

Warta added, “With this (remote learning) some students have been making the best out of it and are doing well, while others are experiencing more and more times of struggle.” 

She also mentioned that there are students who are in between, on some days they are doing great while on others they are experiencing a massive lack of motivation or signs of depression.

Cory Marshall, an AP Biology and Biology teacher at CHS, said, “I didn’t expect the pandemic to hit me so hard emotionally, but I experienced depression a lot this year in ways I never had before.”

Everyone has been experiencing difficulties, however; every person’s situation is different. 

Marshall added, “The thing that has been most difficult for me is not having control over the situation. Not being able to know what ‘victory’ looks like in the whole pandemic mess, (and) not being able to look forward to any goal because I don’t really know what goals we (CHS) are pursuing.”

While there have most definitely been difficulties, there have also been things or people to help us through them.

“My family more than anything else (has helped me). My two sons are so young they do not know what is going on, they just want to play and learn and think that everything is normal. It’s been a great being in their world, even for a few minutes every day,” Marshall said.

It is difficult feeling completely out of control and alone but everyone is going through something different and there are always people to help. Reaching out to teachers, counselors, family members, or even friends is a great way to alleviate the lonely feeling.

Camasonian journalists Daisy Gooch and Emma Sanz contributed to this article.