Brooksville resident Darleen Gruver says she had to stop counting how many COVID patients she sent to the morgue. She says things have improved, but nursing shortages are still causing problems.

From switching to table service to hand sanitizer "all over the place," Matt Yungaitis says he and his co-workers had to adapt after the state shut down bars twice during the pandemic. But he says business has been good lately.

Getting sick with COVID-19 last March was only the beginning of Dr. Devandra Amin's experience with the virus. He and his colleagues have spent the last year caring for patients amid multiple surges in cases, and with no clear answers on treatment.

The pandemic has been especially hard on Ashley Gaska. But she says it's also made her more resilient and determined to instill the values of her loved ones in her students.

St. Pete Pride president Nathan Bruemmer talks about the last year without the large-scale gatherings that LGBTQ+ events are based on.

This week, we're featuring everyday Floridians speaking in their own words about how their lives were affected by COVID. Today, we hear from a high school grad who started at USF over the past year.

"We've already had over 200,000 deaths. I feel like we can't risk having anymore."

"It's interesting because obviously since I had it, I'm less at risk, but I feel like I've been more concerned about it, especially for my wife, or my family or my kids getting it."

"I definitely feel like, while I've had this amazing life, actually, there's a lot more to be had. And I plan to pursue that to the fullest extent, absolutely chase the bucket list."

"When you say things like, ‘It's just like the flu,’ or you know, ‘Mortality rate is not that bad,’ you are telling people like me that – I'm going to have to deal with some of this for the rest of my life – you're telling people like me that it's okay, it doesn’t matter."