Students sit in class looking around at other students, finally getting to see their faces after months of going to school with what seems like strangers.

Jefferson public schools released a statement allowing leniency on wearing a mask inside the school building.Some students still face the difficult option of having to think if they should wear a mask or not.

Freshman Peyton Torri chose not to wear a mask.

“This last week without masks has been so refreshing, seeing my friends’ faces and not having to say, ‘What?’ everytime someone talks to me.” explains Torri

With no mask mandate in place, kids are free to express themselves. Whether it’s the way they dress to the way they wear their makeup however they want, showing true colors.

Behind a mask you can’t tell what someone is feeling or wondering unless they express it.

A-West students walk around school getting back to the normality from a few years ago, as the mandate was lifted teachers and staff aren’t always reminding them to “pull up your mask” when it’s below their nose.

“I used to sit in class and talk and my mask would slip down below my nose and before I realized or recognized to pull it back up, there was always someone telling me to cover my nose,” continues Torri.

Walking around without a mask takes the stress out of being a high school student.

“I used to worry about what kids would think when one day we would take our masks off, now I just recognize that I’ve always looked like this, only now people are getting to see me.” concludes Torri.

There is a safety side to the story, freshman Benny Toang explains her troubles and expresses why she still wears a mask.

“I’m frustrated about the change, I don’t really think it was necessary. They should have stuck the mask mandate out for the rest of the year,” expresses Toang.

With the amount of kids at our school only a small percent of them are still wearing a mask.

“A modification in the mask mandate is exciting to me especially during school at Arvada West. Which is understandable because honestly I don’t like wearing a mask, but again I’m still concerned about everyone’s well being, including me.” explains Toang.

Most people don’t really wants to wear a mask. They’re uncomfortable but they still provide some sort of support to kids still wearing them.

After almost 2 years of Covid-19 and multiple shutdowns of businesses and schools, they don’t want that happening again.

“Personally there are certain people in my life that I can’t see, because it’s too much of a risk, It’s not that hard to just wear a mask. Keep yourself safe, it’s only a piece of cloth, but it can do so much.” concludes Toang.

There are always two sides to every story, whether you agree with them or not, but understanding someone’s point of view and where they’re coming from is crucial to our environment and how we continue to work together as a student body.