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Adults have always told me, “Trust me, life gets harder when you’re older.” Well, technically I’m not that old, but I’m growing up and I’m in high school now. And oh boy life sure has gotten tough recently for a lot of people. Life hasn’t just gotten tough in school, its gotten tough for almost the whole world. The reason the world is going through it at the moment is because of Covid-19, a disease that started in China and spread worldwide. Some of the things that are going through it are schools, businesses, the football season, and more.

I find school hard not just because we have homework almost everyday, but because of Covid-19. Covid-19 has changed the lives of billions of people and a lot of schools around the world. For instance when Covid was not around people would all go to school with their friends and not have to wear a mask for seven hours while learning school subjects. Now, schools have changed the way we go to school and how we do things.

In Lincoln high schools, there are groups “A,” “B,” and even “Z” which stands for Zoomers. “A” group is people whose last names start with A-K and “B” students are those whose names start with L-Z. While “Z” students do full zoom every single day until it’s safe. A-K go to schools on Mondays, Tuesdays, and sometimes Wednesdays, while “B” group only goes on Thursdays, Fridays, and also sometimes on Wednesdays.

Many public schools have also made rules that you have to wear a mask to school, teachers give students hand sanitizer, sanitize desks after students are done sitting, and encourage students to stay home if they feel sick.

Schools aren’t the only things that are different. Jobs have changed too. New rules for retail workers are pretty similar to student rules but have a lot more responsibility to do since they are working on making sure the store is safe for customers. Retail workers have to wear masks and have the same cleaning practices like sanitizing. They also have a glass in between the workers and the customer so that they are more separated.

Restaurant workers also made some adjustments since this Covid pandemic has started, like wearing masks and even gloves, not letting customers serve their own drinks since people are touching it which makes it unsafe, and some food places didn’t let people eat inside but only go through drive-thrus for months.

Bars have done similar things, but here in Lincoln, Nebraska, bars have heavier rules. For example, bars are only having 50% capacity instead of the normal 100%. They can only have a certain amount of people in the bar and have them sit at a distance.

A small thing that Covid has affected in Lincoln, Nebraska is Husker football. For a lot of Nebraskans who passionately love the Cornhuskers, the football season is a big thing people look up to in Nebraska. The season has changed. For example, Nebraska only plays against teams in the Big Ten.

Lincoln has increased dramatically since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. Nebraska has seen rising Covid cases in recent days. This weekend, Nebraska surpassed 70,000 Covid-19 cases. Some Nebraska cities have implemented safety precautions due to the rising cases. For example, Lincoln and Lancaster county have put on a face covering requirement, which requires ages 5 and up to wear a mask in buildings and public unless they are 6 feet away. Lincoln, Nebraska at the moment is at high risk of Covid-19 spread, and the city is close to the severe spot on the risk dial.

Another thing that the city of Lincoln has said is to stay away from the three Cs, which are crowded places, close contact, and confined spaces. If you feel like you’re ever in any of these, take a step out and then go back in when you feel safer. They have also informed you of new symptoms and have allowed you a site where you can call or sign up for testing if you feel ill.

Life does get harder and it will keep getting harder if we don’t follow the rules that can save lives and even our world from this terrible pandemic. Lincoln, Nebraska isn’t the same as it was a year ago. It’s getting harder and is affecting a lot of what we do in our normal average life, but you have to remember to stay safe and protected from this virus.