Hillary, 17

My father is a cop — worst job in the world. I think he is used to not feeling safe and we are used to worrying about him. My mother wants him to be a security guard, which could be safer, but he always tells her we need the salary he makes.

Ever since we were forced to stay away from crowds, and restaurants and stores were closed, Dad said the people in this city would have a tough time putting up with it for too long. No one in Kansas City is very happy. I am busy trying to finish my junior year in high school and the online classes are hard. I do not like it and have to work very hard because some day, I want to go to nursing school. Meanwhile, this COVID-19 is killing so many nurses and doctors — it’s a terrible thing. My friends think I am going to chicken out from being a nurse. No way, I say.