On March 13, 2020, the school day seemed pretty normal. I went throughout that day thinking of it as any other day, but I never imagined it could potentially be my last day of high school. A day in which I got to see my peers walking around the hallways for the last time, the day I got to see my teachers teaching for the last time. 

The coronavirus has immensely impacted this country and has definitely impacted a lot of seniors in the class of 2020. The day before our boys basketball team was supposed to play in front of thousands of fans from their hometown; the city of Alliance and every city participating in the state tournament were faced with the devastating news that only immediate family could enter the state tournament. This is when the fears of every high school senior started. 

The best time of the year was taken away from us. Spring seasons have been cut short due to the virus, and this time more than ever, seniors are experiencing doubt and a load of emotions. I’ve talked to a lot of my fellow peers, and it seems like they are going through the same thing I am going through. When school got cancelled for two weeks, my thoughts exploded. My head has never over thought that much until that very moment. My initial thought when the two weeks of “quarantine” was announced was “What about my NHS induction, will that still happen?” Later on I saw multiple tweets about schools around us cancelling their proms. This also had me worried and still has me worried, due to me not wanting to miss my senior prom. I feel that my senior year has essentially been robbed from me. However, I know we still are waiting it out, and my graduation ceremony and prom night could still happen, but the thought of these two things not happening really devastates me and I know devastates a lot of my other peers. We have looked forward to this for such a long time. 

My graduation ceremony is something that I have always pictured in my head, and something I have worked extremely hard toward, especially this year. As rumors of school being cancelled for the rest of the school year emerge, I worry that I won’t be able to successfully maintain the grades I so greatly need in order to graduate with the honors I’ve worked for this whole year. Online classes make the interaction in classes much more difficult which is why I worry I won’t be able to maintain good grades with this unideal circumstance we are now facing.

 It is true that this pandemic has brought too many emotions upon me, especially in the last week. I love my class and it really upsets me that I won’t get to spend more time with them. I never thought that I would say I love school, but I do, and I regret ever saying I wish it would all end quickly, because when I would say that, I didn’t actually mean it. Now, I look back on the amazing memories I’ve created so far my senior year, and all the memories I have essentially been robbed from for the rest of the year. My faith has been tested, and my fear has dramatically overpowered my faith, but I know with the support from our school board, staff members, and family, the class of 2020 will experience everything even if it takes longer than expected. To the class of 2020, thank you for being the best class I could ever graduate with, you all truly make the pandemic a little easier to deal with.