Thomas White is fast. The captain of the cross country team at Boston Latin School, he had hoped to prove himself during his senior year as one of the region's top high school runners. Instead, the pandemic has slowed the pace of his life to a crawl. As part of our COVID and the Classroom series, Meredith Nierman, GBH's director of photography, spent a week documenting the reality of Thomas' senior year, mostly spent in his family's home in South Boston.
Thomas' classes are fully remote, so he no longer makes the daily commute across town to school. But he has maintained his early morning routine. At 6:30 a.m. on a Monday morning he and the family cat, Qat, have the kitchen to themselves.
As the sun begins to rise, Thomas sets out for his morning run. "It's a nice way to add structure to my life when I feel like there's not a lot," he said. "And that's been something that's been really good for me.”
Thomas runs down F street towards Dorchester. It will be his last run of the week after a stress injury flares up and forces him to rest.
After his morning run, Thomas makes breakfast while chatting with mother. "It's the last year I'll be home for real, like all the time," he said. "It's a good thing, getting to spend a ton of time at home before going to college."
Thomas logs in at 9 a.m. for three and a half hours of classes. His younger brother uses their bedroom for school, so Thomas has claimed a spot in the living room.
With most of Thomas’ activities canceled or happening virtually, he often spends time in the afternoon playing video or board games with his younger siblings. Going outside to play soccer or football, as he used to, he said, "feels like a pointless risk to take."
Thomas will attend Bucknell University in Pennsylvania on a Posse Foundation scholarship next fall. Through the Posse program, he connnects weekly with other students who will also be on campus. Thomas said it already feels like he's part of a community.
Most nights Thomas and his family eat dinner together. In a year when he has rarely seen classmates or friends, he said, he's especially grateful for his family.
One of the rare occasions Thomas leaves the house is for a doctor's appointment because of his leg injury.
Thomas started riding the bus alone in seventh grade. "It kind of feels a little unsafe with ... COVID," he said, "but, you know, I try to sit away from people."
Thomas walks towards his doctor's appointment at Tufts Medical Center. He is eager to resolve his injury and hopeful there will be track meets this spring.
Thomas shares a bedroom with his 12-year-old brother. He sleeps on the bottom bunk and is used to an occasional book or other object falling on him. Living in close quarters with his family, he said, means he is not worried about adapting to life with a college roommate.
Cross country racing bibs cover Thomas' bedroom door. They're reminders of past races, and of the races that didn't happen this year.
A mirror with family photos, coats and stacks of running sneakers and shoes line the entryway of Thomas' home.
After an overnight snowstorm, Thomas shovels the front walk and continues down the sidewalk past his neighbors' homes. He attributes this act of kindness to what he says is the neighborly feel of South Boston, adding, "I also feel like it's more my duty, as the 18-year-old athlete to shovel some people's snow."
On a Saturday afternoon, Thomas and his family watch television together. "I see my family a lot, which, you know, ask me on a certain day and I might say, 'Oh it's so annoying'," he said. "But most of the time ... I'm very appreciative of that aspect of it."
On a Sunday evening, Thomas preps for the week ahead. "I'm going to continue to do my work so I can graduate," he said. "You have hope the future is going to be better."
