GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC 26) -- They say change is inevitable.
But the past year in a pandemic has forced many Northeast Wisconsinites to change their lives more than ever before.
"We moved here almost two years ago from Phoenix and didn't know many people here," Kaitlan Schick, who now lives in De Pere, said. "Our older kids started school and we were just starting to build a community and get to know a few people here and there. And then the pandemic hit and I've been at home with our four kids for the past year."
Members of the community say they can't be as friendly.
"I'm a pretty sociable person," Green Bay native Quintin Lukasik said. "I like meeting people. I guess the biggest aspect is not being able to see my friends. It kind of changed my perspective on life a little bit. I just miss meeting new people man. That's kind of what I'm about. So that's what I really enjoy."
Without large gatherings, others say it's more difficult to do their job.
"I work a lot of shows and events, so with everything being canceled, it pretty much diminished my whole business," Caden Coopman of Green Bay said. "But finally a year later, things are starting to look up."
One local student says class in the midst of Covid is a struggle.
"It really affected my learning in school," Green Bay eighth grader Perry Bowman said. "My grades went down a lot. I've been doing better now, but it's been pretty hard. It's been like a roller coaster of emotions."
Some say they haven't been able to travel.
"This trip here is my first trip in a year," Bo Bennett, who traveled to the area from Tennessee for work, said. "So this is the first time I've gotten to go anywhere and actually do anything. Today, I was meeting with some officials around here."
But not everything has changed. Many Northeast Wisconsinites have stayed positive.
"We're just glad to be out finally and get to actually do the normal things like play in a playground," Jesse Ogle said while walking with his son to a Titletown playground. "But we gotta take our precautions; the mask and everything. We've been blessed that way. It's been different, but we've been surviving through this."
