Throughout quarantine, many students at CAHS have needed some way to stay connected with their friends. To continue socializing, students have been using video calls, chat groups, video game platforms, socially distanced meetups and more. 

Some students, such as sophomore Melody Reyes use video calling platforms such as Facetime and Zoom to keep a close bond with her friends. “Sometimes we will do homework together and sometimes we will just talk.” Reyes said. She mentions that the group calls start “[when] one person calls and one person will add someone or we will just do a small group at first, it depends.” 

Although Facetime can be helpful, there are a few features that some students do not enjoy or care for about the app. “With the new update, it’s weird because I want to see my friends faces but when they go on pause you can’t see them.” Although Reyes is not a fan of that exact feature, something “[she does] like about the new update is when you go on pause you can still see their faces which is cool.” Reyes states how she likes the Zoom chat feature and would like to have that on iMessage. “I feel like it would be cooler if they had that feature.”

Other methods that are popularly used are playing through online gaming and game nights. Students like senior Leela Craven use this method to stay in touch with her friends. “The game[s] we use to stay in touch is just Among Us and Minecraft.” Although most people in her friend group are all close, “I would say they don’t keep us in touch that well. Since a majority of the group has a job, our schedules never line up that well. It’s very rare if the entire group plays at once.” 

Despite the group running into problems with WiFi connections, job schedules and availability, Craven still enjoys spending time with her friends. “Sometimes things do get awkward, such as waiting for people, connection issues, etc. But they never outweigh the fun of game nights.” Game nights are enjoyable to Craven and the group and she would want to continue playing games throughout the school year. “We will definitely have game nights in the future, we always played games before distance learning. I don’t see much changing for the rest of the school year regarding games.” 

The students at CAHS are always finding ways to keep connected with their friends even though quarantine is keeping them apart. Other ways to communicate can be through group chats and socially distanced meetups. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Caimans are finding ways to make the best of life until it goes back to normal.