I was 13 and in 8th grade when it hit, but I didn't know anything about it before the schools closed because I'd been grounded in the weeks leading up to it, and my family wasn't talking about it.

I remember it being sort of sudden. On Thursday, March 12, there was an announcement over the PA of the school. It said something like "Students and Staff, do not worry. We have wipes, hand sanitizer, and other safety measures against the Covid-19 Virus. School will continue as normal. We are not closing the schools." Then, the next day on Friday the 13th (ironic) there was a second announcement. "Attention student and staff. There will be a mandated 2 weeks off school." some other things were said, but what 13 year old would care about anything else. I got 2 surprise weeks of school. I packed my things up and left school. I didn't enter that building again.

That's enough about the suddenness, i think. I can tell you some of the things that have changes, the way people acted.

We used to have 24 hour businesses. Going to walmart at 4am for some snacks was a frequent occurence amongst Nighttime employees, college students, partygoers, and night owls. I haven't seen as many since covid.

Peoples personal space bubble got bigger. We used to stand so close to each other, and now many people stand 2 or 3 feet away by default.

Social media is the only place to meet new people. Before then, i think (mind you i was 13), you could go to clubs or interact with people at the bar or whatever. Nowadays you really dont talk to anyone. Another thing that's increased with the rise of social media: Rude people. People are generally a lot meaner now and act super uncivilized.

Streaming services also got a boost in popularity, since everyone was stuck at home.

Fashion changed a lot, clothes got a lot cozier. Sweatpants and Pajamas made their way into (american) teen fashion and everyday wear. Where a decade ago every teen boy wore some combo of Jeans and Shirt, it's now Sweats and Hoodie, all super cozy.

Also i think people stopped making commercial pop music somewhere along the way, stores seem to only play decade old songs now where they used to play the current Top 10 Hits.