Yes I know, I’m sorry. Another post about COVID-19 as if we all haven’t heard enough about it. But it’s still on all of our minds. How can we not think about it and talk about it when it impacts so many of our daily activities.
As the youngest of six children, I have watched all my siblings go through their education, including their high school careers. I sent all of them off to their dances (before I was going to dances as well), watched all of their games and competitions, and sat through their (honestly a little bit boring) graduation. I have heard so many of their stories of their senior year, and they all absolutely loved it. But now as a part of the class of 2020, many of us will not have the chance to attend the events that we have looked forward to throughout high school.
Before I get into the rest of this post, I think it is extremely important to acknowledge a few things. What is being done, such as the postponement of sports and other events, is in our best interest. Everyone is taking precautions so that the virus cannot be transmitted to as many people, therefore keeping the majority of people safe and healthy. I think it is also very important to acknowledge that there are those in other countries, less fortunate than ours, struggling to survive and stay afloat during this pandemic. And some people have not made it through this pandemic. With all of this said, I think it is very important to recognize these things but they don’t mean that we are not allowed to be upset either. (For more on why it is okay to be sad about cancelled events)
I am going to be honest, when I heard that school was cancelled I was devastated. I did not know what that meant for my sport, the rest of our semester, and other activities. As a senior, it is a lot different for us than the underclassmen. While they still face some cancellations, they still have another year of high school with their best friends. But for many of us this is it. We are splitting and going our separate ways for college. We are losing time with our best friends, even if that did mean simply seeing them in school.
Spring sports. I am so sorry for the seniors who are competing for the last time this spring and have had the majority of their season cancelled. Being on track, I completely understand what you guys are feeling. I know it’s super cheesy, but seeing all my best friends and being able to work off our steam at the end of a long day is so needed. And our coaches. For track we have new coaches this year that fit with our team like pieces in a puzzle. It is hard not to see them every day too. When I am working out it’s just not the same. They are not outside pushing us but still cheering us on the whole time.
Okay now to prom, senior celebration, and graduation. These ones are a little different. In my opinion, these are the most talked up events of senior year. Girls spend weeks finding prom dresses and spend more money than their bank account would have liked on a dress- or maybe that was just me… So much time and effort go into prom and it is something that I have looked forward to since my homecoming freshman year. Senior celebration I have heard the best things about, no one has ever said a bad thing about it to me. It is a time for all the seniors to come together and bond in a group that big for one of the last times. Senior celebration is such a huge part of North’s culture. Now graduation. There are jokes all over about graduation being online or hitting “enter “to cross the stage. For now these are just jokes but at least for me, I am so scared it will become a reality. That our class won’t get to experience the things that the class of 2019 told us were the best of their high school experience.
If you are feeling the same thing that I am, you’re not alone. We are all scared and upset for so many reasons. But at the end of the day our legacy is what we make it. We will be the class that overcame all of the bumps in the road that this year has provided- even if we had no other choice. At the end of the day it is okay to feel sad and scared but we should all also be thankful for what we do have, and respectful of those who are dealing with loss and so many other issues due to COVID-19.
Julia
I wrote my blog about a similar topic. I want to talk about something else but it feels like this is the only topic that matters right now. It’s sp sad to see so many people who are so strongly affected by this but it is also sad to feel like we are loosing experiences too. I think our whole class needs to come together in a time like this. We need to appreciate eachothers accomplishments and enjoy eachothers company as best we can.