COVID-19 has caused many new lifestyle changes, such as social distancing and schools closing, but the pandemic has also affected many students’ plans for this coming summer. Many trips, summer camps, and theme parks have been canceled or closed to prevent the spread of the virus.

Many people across the country and at West Henderson were planning on leaving the country this summer, but the overseas traveling restrictions have forced a change in those plans. 126 countries are completely closed for travel while 64 are partially closed and very few are open. This has caused most international vacations or visits to be canceled.

“I was planning on going to Portugal to see my cousin,” sophomore Emory Hogan said. “I was really looking forward to it. It was going to be my main trip of the summer.”

Social distancing and quarantine have affected many aspects of life, like going out to eat and seeing friends. Hanging out with friends has always been a big part of summer, and with the virus, most teens have had to stay at home. 

“During quarantine, I definitely missed my friends a lot,” Hogan said. “Unlike other parents, mine didn’t allow me to see my friends during the pandemic.”

Along with all the summer trips being canceled, school sports that usually practice during the summer have also had to abide by restrictions. 

“COVID-19 has affected some things like school sports during the summer,” junior Karly Powers said. “It has also affected some of our other plans like going to professional sports games.”

Another important summer activity and trip are summer camps. Most camps have been canceled for the coming summer, which left many people wishing they could continue this summer tradition. 

“I was supposed to go to a summer camp with my church this summer but it was canceled,” Powers said. “It made me realize that things don’t always get to happen.”

Although many students’ original plans will no longer take place, many have decided to make the best of what they can do. 

“The trip was important because church camp is always something I look forward to,” Powers said. “But we decided to go to Noah’s ark museum as a replacement.” 

By: Ashley Mullis, Staff Writer