This week on Dayton Youth Radio, the second feature in our Teens In Quarantine series. Dylan Potts and Ashley Daniels, two juniors from Kettering Fairmont High School talk about how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting life as a teenager.
Dylan Potts
The first thing I'm going to do after this coronavirus stuff is finished with, is get my hair cut because it's already been forever since I've gotten a cut. By the time this is over, my hair is going to be crazy.
My name is Dylan Potts, and I'm a 17-year-old junior at Kettering Fairmont High School. I live in Kettering with my mom Alison Potts, my dad, Brian Potts, my little 14-year-old sister, Zoe. Both my parents work from home, so me and my sister are not home alone.
This might be the first time that I've ever really missed school. I miss being around everyone, and coming back next August is going to be a great feeling.
Just recently, I just got called back into to work again. I'm a drive-thru attendant at Frisch's. So I will take your order, send it through to the cooks, bag up your food and make your desserts. I thought this quarantine was going to give me more time with friends and I would have a very stress free break, but now with the stay-at-home order, it's one of the longest, most boring and worst breaks ever.
I normally wake up around noon, but I'm still tired, so I just go to bed again. And then after waking up at 3:00, I just stay in my bed for a few hours, just scrolling on my phone, looking at social media and memes and texting my friends.
I talk to my girlfriend Hannah. We just talk about how much we miss each other and how tough this is. She makes me more happy than anyone else. We haven't seen each other at all since this quarantine started, but we both know that's for the better and we're helping people just by staying home. So for me to be separate from Hannah as well as all my other friends has really upset me and is damaging me severely mentally. It's probably the toughest time in my life so far. I'm defintely not as happy as I was heading into break.
Ashley Daniels
Coronavirus messed up some big events for me, I guess. Prom is probably the biggest thing.
I totally understand why it's canceled, though, and I would definitely not want to be in a crowded gym with hundreds of hot, sweaty teenagers dancing to music from the early 2000s while also being exposed to the coronavirus. That's just too much for one night.
My name is Ashley Daniels. I live in Kettering, Ohio, with my mom, Alice, my dad, Don and my sister. My sister's name is Taylor. She's 14 and I'm 17.
I was really excited actually when I found out that we were doing e-learning from home. I don't really like school that much because teenagers are really hard people to go along with, as you adults may know. I think I'm doing so well because I'm comfortable with being alone with my thoughts. I go to Fairmont High School and I'm in the interactive media program.
My dream is to be a film director and an actress. I want to be an actress to inspire and motivate people. My mindset is that someone in the world needs to see my work because maybe someone may need it to get through the day or just overcome a rough place in their life. Having access to a platform like movie-making can inspire a change in someone's life.
Now that I'm home all the time, I'm attempting to write a feature length script. And when it becomes a movie, I'll get to tell people it was written during the "Great Coronavirus Quarantine of 2020."
I'm being very cautious about the coronavirus. I wash my hands when I come home from a walk or run or before I eat anything. The thing I miss most about pre-quarantine is seeing my friends. I only have a couple, Aubrey, Alice, Rema and Timmy.
I actually went and saw Aubrey and Alice six feet away, a safe distance. We talked in a parking lot for probably two and a half hours and it was really nice getting to talk to them, but I can't wait to hug them again. These are hard times for everyone.
I encourage you to find comfort in your family or maybe a good book or your favorite film. Stay safe, stay strong, and I know we'll get through this.
Dylan Potts and Ashley Daniels are both juniors at Kettering Fairmont High School. Special thanks to their teacher Laura Hutchens. Dayton Youth Radio is supported by the Virginia W. Kettering Foundation, the Vectren Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council.
This story was created at the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices at WYSO.