Jennifer, 16 – Hartford CT

Firstly, I’d like to introduce myself: my name is Jennifer. I live in Hartford with my parents and brother.

At the moment, my family and I are facing many challenges. The hardest part for me is not being able to see my family in Peru. It’s been almost 12 years since I arrived to the United States and I still get homesick.

I miss seeing my friends everyday at school. During my time at school I would always look forward to see my teachers and share laughs with everyone. At first I hated how my mom applied me to a new school but it’s become my home and my safe place.

I think teens in general are just facing a lot at the moment. We need more support. Nothing in my life is the same anymore. If there’s one positive thing that I can take from this pandemic is that I’ve gotten closer with my family. My dad is still working but we all got to spend more time together. Last week alone we lost 3 family members in Peru due to this virus. What hurt the most was that we couldn’t be there to help.

I know we can’t expect complete normality anytime soon but I truly do miss going out and living without precautions. Frankly, if I’m being honest I feel more safe in Peru than I do here. I don’t think our government is doing enough to keep us safe. When I open my Snapchat in the morning all I see is everyone hanging out and driving around together. My family and I try to stay strong for each other, although it gets hard.

I hope everything gets better soon. After this disaster I plan on traveling to Peru to see my family again.

Jennifer, 16 – Hartford CT

Firstly, I’d like to introduce myself: my name is Jennifer. I live in Hartford with my parents and brother.

At the moment, my family and I are facing many challenges. The hardest part for me is not being able to see my family in Peru. It’s been almost 12 years since I arrived to the United States and I still get homesick.

I miss seeing my friends everyday at school. During my time at school I would always look forward to see my teachers and share laughs with everyone. At first I hated how my mom applied me to a new school but it’s become my home and my safe place.

I think teens in general are just facing a lot at the moment. We need more support. Nothing in my life is the same anymore. If there’s one positive thing that I can take from this pandemic is that I’ve gotten closer with my family. My dad is still working but we all got to spend more time together. Last week alone we lost 3 family members in Peru due to this virus. What hurt the most was that we couldn’t be there to help.

I know we can’t expect complete normality anytime soon but I truly do miss going out and living without precautions. Frankly, if I’m being honest I feel more safe in Peru than I do here. I don’t think our government is doing enough to keep us safe. When I open my Snapchat in the morning all I see is everyone hanging out and driving around together. My family and I try to stay strong for each other, although it gets hard.

I hope everything gets better soon. After this disaster I plan on traveling to Peru to see my family again.