Photo Story: Halle Freitas and High School During the Pandemic


During this pandemic and being stuck inside a lot, Halle Freitas, a 17 year old going to Lebanon High School, takes time to enjoy activities such as art and using creative skills. She is currently working on the piece shown in this photo. It’s hard to stay in the best mindset when being stuck at home so much,  but she uses her hobbies such as painting to stay in the best mindset she can. “Art kind of keeps me focused on the bright side of being stuck in here” she said and laughed. 

After practicing clarinet to stay in shape for LHS band, Freitas goes to her morning zoom classes. She usually keeps the camera and mic off so she can follow along with the class and continue to practice as well. Outside of school and chores, she enjoys things such as listening to music, watching YouTube or playing games such as “Among Us” with her groups of friends. 

Despite the pandemic, Freitas still practices playing the clarinet every day and has zoom meetings with the LHS band, where they get song updates and plans for when schools open up again. She also finds it fun and one of her hobbies that help her to keep a good spirit during these difficult times.  “Even though we don’t have any classes at school right now, our band teacher keeps us all into the class with new things to learn and play.” 

In the evening, Freitas studies for the upcoming calculus final that she has tomorrow. Along with her High school classes, she is also enrolled in math at LBCC. She has to stay on top of it all and motivated just as she would in class, but with school being all at home now, that’s significantly more difficult to accomplish. “When you’re learning at home, it’s hard enough to stay focused on your work, but since you’re home so much, parents expect you to be able to do all these things around the house too. It’s a little tiring and frustrating.” After she finishes high school, she plans to go into the military. 



On a Tuesday afternoon, Freitas helps around the family property more now while 
Enrolled in online school. For example, she helps to take care of the chickens, letting them roam and collecting eggs to be used for cooking and baking. Both of her parents are working full time during the pandemic as well, so helping out with chores around the house is needed. “It gets kind of lonely” she stated, “but keeping myself busy around the house with this stuff to get done, staying connected to friends and my boyfriend through media and on the phone helps a lot”. This pandemic is not only affecting physical health, but also the mental health and stability of students and kids. Social skills are likely on the decline, with things such as loneliness and depression are on the rise. Although, media is helping students to at least cope and stay connected to the best of their abilities. 

 

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