By Jordyn DeJesus

One of the strangest things about this year, without a doubt, has been wearing masks to school.

The Tides did a Google Form survey to see how students feel about masks. Here are some of our results.

The clear favorite type of mask is cloth. Out of the 111 people who responded, 80 people said they preferred cloth; 30 people preferred disposable surgical masks; and only one person said they liked an N-95 mask. Maybe this is because cloth masks are more comfortable and they can be reused. Personally, I find the disposable masks hard to breathe in, and they make me sweat. 

In our survey, a lot of people said they liked black, plain, or solid-colored masks. Some people said tie dye or flowers. The most popular color was black with 35 percent of respondents. The next most popular was blue with 13 percent. But we also had some goofy answers, like “ZZZ like my hairline,” “Baby Yoda,” and “Batman.”

Most people said they did not match their masks with their outfits (51 percent). Forty three percent said sometimes they did, and 17 percent of people said they always match their masks with their outfits. I personally don’t, although I did have an Easter outfit that came with a matching mask.

A lot of people said they have tried two or three different designs on their masks. But answers varied. Some said six and some even said 10 or more.

People had a lot of reasons not to like masks. Some said masks make it hard to breathe, they are very hot, itchy, smell like dogs’ breath, make your glasses foggy, hurt your ears, or are just generally uncomfortable. 

But students also admitted that masks have good qualities. Apart from protecting us from Covid, masks also keep our faces warm when it is cold out. One person said, “People can’t see your face when you are wearing one.” Another person said, “People can’t tell if I’m smiling or not.” Another person said, “People don’t recognize me.” Hmm. I wonder why they don’t want to be recognized?! 

On Thursday (when I was writing this article!), the CDC said that Americans who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus may stop wearing masks in most indoor and outdoor settings, according to The New York Times. It seems hard to believe. This raises so many questions: How? Why? And are we ready to say goodbye to our masks? We all got so used to them because we have been wearing them to school for four hours a day and everywhere else. Sometimes I don’t even know that my mask is there. Now we just have to wait and see what happens. Dun dun duuunn …