It’s widely known that the pandemic was a struggle for all the students both mentally and physically. The COVID-19 pandemic has provided an opportunity to learn new things. Some of us have gained new knowledge about ourselves, and also about others. Some of us have had an opportunity to reflect on what we value and prioritize in life. Others have had lessons on friendships and the importance of kindness. But possibly one of the most important and profound learnings has been around the role of teachers and the supporting role of parents.On the other side, the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) has caused enormous negative impacts on adolescents’ routines, social interaction, interpersonal relationships, psychosocial well-being, and physical health. The students were devastated, it affected their relationships with other people, their social skills and their ability to communicate with their peers.

After all those years of the lock down a plethora of people managed to recover from this traumatic experience. On the one hand, some people believe that every day life is relatively the same and it hasn’t been affected at all. Their arguments are mostly accommodated by the fact that they were already working at home and they haven’t been through many changes. They supported that they no longer wear face masks in general (school, work, going out). Furthermore , there are no longer moving restrictions and the people can travel freely. They strongly believe that online classes haven’t been a struggle but instead an opportunity for them to get to know new things, gain more life experience and get to realize that life is unexpected.

On the other hand, many people disagree and they claim that everything has changed. It affected every aspect of their lives, especially their mental health.  Plenty of people lost their loved ones and they were extremely devastated. Furthermore, it affected their health, not only from the virus but also from the high exposure to electronic devices. What is more, people are treated differently when they are ill and they are avoided. Needless  to say, the healthcare system is completely different from what it was and has even more restrictions. People have changed a lot mentally and physically after the pandemic.

In conclusion, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Despite the negative psychosocial effects induced by COVID-19 on adolescent development, it is also necessary to understand young people’s positive changes, which is important to shed light on personal growth in times of crisis. At some point, the majority of us will become used to how things have changed, and we will begin to see our changed world as normal. For those of us who have lived through the pandemic, it will be in our minds forever. But how we look back and remember the pandemic, and the times before March 2020, will keep on changing.

The Greek Team