Students discuss the academic and mental health impacts of distance learning Students describe the mental toll of distance learning LOS ANGELES - The COVID-19 pandemic upended the lives of thousands of people in California, including students who had to adapt to distance learning in March of last year. "When it first started, I was extremely excited. I was happy to finally not go to school as I'm sure every other kid was, but then I started to miss the social aspect of school because that's where I saw all my friends and got my personal life and I was cut off from that. It definitely seems a bit more lonely," said Emma Jane Kennedy, a 16-year-old junior at Agoura High School in LA County.