The COVID-19 pandemic hits a little bit differently for Class of 2020

By Caelyn Walton-Macaulay ‘20

By the time this article is published, we will have spent 52 days in quarantine: 52 days since we have seen each other, been to class, or hung out outside with each other in person. This is an unprecedented time in history, and we’re all just trying to make it through. At the same time, many of us are itching to return to the way of life before COVID-19.

Kirsten Kister, LAHS Class of 2020

However, the Class of 2020 may be feeling the effects of this hectic situation a little bit differently than other grades.

The end of senior year usually brings about celebratory gatherings and events to recognize the seniors’ achievements. But stay-at-home orders have made these all but impossible. Seniors from coast to coast are experiencing a wide range of emotions towards the premature end of the semester, from anger to joy.

Avi Solomon, LAHS Class of 2020

Dylan Smith, a senior at CGS, shared that his days have been tinged with "a small amount of sadness… I'm fine,” he added, “but there's a tragic backdrop to everything I do. At the end of my high school career, I was finally figuring myself out socially… so I was socializing more frequently.” 

Smith was excited for the social opportunities of second semester senior year. “Second semester senior year was going to be the time,” he said. 

Many members of the Class of 2020 can relate. 

Stella Meier, another CGS senior, said she felt “super bummed” to miss out on being at school and seeing everyone. “These are the last few months to cherish high school and be together as a class and so to not have that is a disappointment,” she said.

And it’s not just CGS’ Class of 2020. Seniors from all over the country are feeling a range of emotions about this unusual end to their final year of high school.

Destinee Clay, who will be graduating from Henry Clay High School in Lexington, Kentucky this May, explained,“It is nice that I get to sleep in, but on the other hand, it's kind of difficult for me to work online with no teacher and it also sucks not to go anywhere and hang out with friends.”

Similar to other seniors, Emma Latendresse of CGS simply said, “I wish i could see my friends [and] a lot more people… I feel like I just miss being in public spaces, being at school.”

Besides missing the interactions they’d normally be engaging in, the Class of 2020 is missing out on many rites of passage that make the end of high school that much sweeter. And many of them are not very happy about it.

There are some things “every senior should experience,” wrote Clay, “like the last couple of months with my class, going to prom, and the biggest one, my graduation. Graduation is something everyone should get to have and just knowing that I worked four years for this to happen is very upsetting.”

Avi Solomon, a senior at Lewisburg Area High School (LAHS) in Lewisburg, PA, was excited for LAHS’ annual art shows and spring concerts. These, too, have been cancelled; Solomon wrote that she is “super sad to miss them.”

Among other LAHS events cancelled were prom and graduation. Kirsten Kister, who also attends LAHS, wrote, “I feel like my senior year was stolen from me, almost. Like I bought my prom dress, ordered my cap and gown, and worked my butt off to be able to enjoy all the cool things about the end of senior year.” 

Despite feeling down about lost opportunities, some seniors are still finding silver linings in their day to day lives. 

“I’m working at the Neighborhood House food garden,” Latendresse said. “I’m really happy to just be by myself and away from my family, and just to exercise… and also walking with my dog,” she added.

“I feel like the things that would have given the most meaning to moving on from high school aren't really the things organized by the PFA,” Latendresse later said in reference to events such as graduation and CGS’ annual senior class trip. “I’m just not feeling a big loss there.”

In an effort to honor the Class of 2020’s achievements, many schools are exploring alternative options for a graduation ceremony. CGS has considered holding the ceremony on the soccer field, with parents either sitting around the track or with their students in a picnic-style arrangement.

This is a popular idea among some CGS seniors. “I would really love to have a graduation in person, even if that does mean it looks a little different than a normal graduation,” said Meier.

Smith was a little bit more skeptical. “From my perspective, even when social distancing ends [over the summer], if it does, I doubt we’ll be able to be like, ‘Okay, let’s have the whole grade be together,’” he said.

Regardless of what marks the end of high school for these seniors, they are far from being done. As Latendresse said, “It’s kind of a valuable lesson in appreciating things more that we usually don't… There’s just so much more than graduating.”

With the last days of classes upon them, seniors’ focuses are shifting from the now towards the future. As rising college freshmen, this global pandemic may very well have a lasting effect on high school seniors’ academic careers. 

And even though they all have one foot in the same metaphorical boat, no two seniors’ plans are exactly alike.

Solomon’s plans simply entail “hoping to God that we'll actually be on campus” come the beginning of the fall term.

Meier’s college informed admitted students that the deadline to take a gap year would close just three days before the start of the fall term. 

“I think that I would probably take a gap year, given that I could decide that pretty last minute. I want to be able to get the most out of my college experience, and I don't think that entails taking classes online freshman year, you know?” she added.

Many universities are seriously considering moving next semester’s classes online. While this is obviously a solution to protect everyone’s health, it is not everyone’s favorite idea. Kister, who will be attending Point Park University in Pittsburgh, wrote, “So far, my move-in date is the same, but I'm so scared I'll have to do my first semester or year of college online.”

When asked if she would consider taking a gap year, Latendresse simply replied, “I don't know. I have no idea.”

Smith, instead of pondering his college future, spoke of how he might emerge from this whole ordeal: “I'm definitely in a privileged position… I will be able to get through it a little bit more unscathed than other people.” 

He also wisely noted that “even if [COVID-19] doesn’t impact you [directly], it will impact you in some way.”

So, as the end of the school year approaches and seniors gear up to leave the nest-- or not-- let’s all take a little time to appreciate the present and be a little nicer to everyone. 

And, for the love of all that is holy, please stay home so that the seniors can go and experience college to the fullest.