With social distancing interrupting every aspect of normal life, even birthday celebrations have been drastically changed. Here’s a look at some East students who’ve celebrated their special day during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sophomore Courtenay Tetrick
Q: When was your birthday?
“April 6”
Q: What did you do on your birthday?
“I mainly stayed at home. But my friends drove down the street with posters and signs and they were all honking their horns. Then we all talked and stayed 6 feet apart obviously. Once they left, I had steak that my dad grilled for dinner with my family and my sister got me a piñata just to be funny. It was a chill birthday.”
Q: Did you have any cake?
“We had cupcakes. I know that they’re like the same thing, but I’m not a big cake person.”
Q: Did you get any presents?
“I got a lot of clothes. Well, most of them are still coming. When I opened my gifts, most of the boxes were empty and there were printed out receipts or pictures of clothes I had wanted that were online.”
Q: How would you say the coronavirus affected your birthday?
“It definitely changed my plans. I like having my birthday party the weekend after my birthday, and I just like being with all my friends. Although I saw them on my birthday, it just wasn’t the same. I wanted to go to dinner with them or go to a party with them or at least hug them for being here. It definitely put a halt on all my plans.”
Q: Do you have any birthday traditions you missed out on because of the virus?
“Since my birthday’s close to Easter, we usually go visit my grandparents in California and a lot of my family goes out there too. So we celebrate Easter and my birthday in the same weekend with everyone. But with the coronavirus going on, we had to cancel our flight. So I didn’t get to spend my birthday with my extended family. But it was still good.”
Senior Josephine McCray
Q: When was your birthday?
“April 5”
Q: What did you do on your birthday?
“My mom actually put together a scavenger hunt. So my brother and I drove around to all of our family and friends’ houses. She didn’t tell us exactly where to go, she gave us clues. We would drive to their house and she had organized it with them to where she put a present somewhere kind of concealed. It wasn’t super easy to find them, so we did that for like three hours. Then, two of my closest friends came over to say hi and they brought a really cute box of goodies and a cookie cake. Later, like six of my friends drove by honking and we all talked 6 feet apart in my driveway for a while. And then, we went to my god family’s house for dinner because no restaurants are open.”
Q: Did you have any cake?
“Yes, my godmother made a cake from a boxed cake mix. I mean, honestly, those are the best. It was really good.”
Q: How would you say the coronavirus affected your birthday?
“To be really honest, this was probably the best birthday I’ve ever had — which is kind of weird considering it was during a pandemic. All of my friends and family went out of their way to make sure I had a good birthday and that just made it 10 times more special. Like the fact that people even brought over a cookie cake was a huge deal. Normally you wouldn’t really think twice about someone bringing you food, but the fact that they went out of their way to go to the store and get it during this time was an even bigger deal. So honestly, it was probably the best birthday I’ve had.”
Q: Do you have any birthday traditions you missed out on because of it?
“Just going out to dinner. Besides that, nothing really.”
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