My name is Sydney. I am 18 years old and in my last month of high school at Colorado High School Charter. The pandemic has made me feel as if everything came to a standstill. My momentum in life was interrupted very suddenly. Right now, the most important things I miss are being able to go to school in person.

I submitted a photo of a leaf. To me it represents hard work, patience and love for living things. Putting attention and care into a plant and watching it develop is something to look forward to. Being excited about things is hard these days, so investing time to help something grow helps.