As of March 2nd, masks were no longer required at Weedsport schools. This news was met with a wide range of emotions. Some students were waiting and waiting on this day to come but others were dreading it. A few of us felt both happy and nervous.

To speak for myself, I was one of the students somewhere in the middle. When I first heard that masks were no longer a requirement I was planning on still wearing it because that was “the normal.” But when I thought about it in the upcoming days to the release of the mandate I decided to stop wearing it. I realized I wasn’t actually wearing it for the purpose to keep myself and others safe but because that was all that I was used to.

The first day of no masks I was still a bit nervous but it reminded me of before the pandemic happened and that was comforting. After the first week of wearing no masks I think I made the right choice. 

Of course with a big change like this, it comes with positive and negative effects. Let’s discuss some good things that have changed for us.  For the longest time in the classroom teachers and students have had sort of a barrier between them because of the masks. The first day of wearing no masks I noticed a lot of students were more talkative than usual, including myself.

It is crazy how simply taking off a mask opens up so many more opportunities to talk to new people. This goes for in class participation as well – discussions in class have gotten better and students are more engaged in lessons. When you have a mask on it is harder to see when someone is visibly upset or struggling. Now without them teachers are able to see when a student needs help without them asking. 

Although there are great things that come with this change there are still some negative effects. Other students and myself got sick just after a few days of not wearing masks at school. Thankfully it was just a cold which nowadays we are not used to. After a few days of rest they have returned to school. 

Overall many students see this change as something great and exciting.