To our Seniors. Please know that we are thinking of you in during this uncertain time. Before we left school on Thursday March 13th, I overhead many excited conversations about Proms, summer plans and of course, college! In what seems like an instant, your would was now a giant question mark, and we all were not sure what we she be planning. I came across a piece written to you, for you. It is not by a parent, teacher or counselor. Rather, it is by one of your contemporaries who took that question mark and wrote about it. Please take solace, and know you are not alone. This is a beautiful piece written by a Senior at Coatesville Area Senior High School District Senior High School and featured on 6 abc news.
COVID-19
Who would have thought that one Virus could totally interrupt my senior year? This year was supposed to be the year for so many memories, so many lasts, and so many firsts. The Corona Virus, since entering the United States has sent many into a panic. However, as a child of post 9/11, I know that we can handle it and come out stronger than before.
The past couple of weeks has changed so many lives for the class of 2020. For those who play sports, they are missing out on their final spring sport high school seasons. They are missing out on one last chance to impress College recruiters. For those who work with student council, they are missing out on meetings to schedule spring events and finalize big event planning for the proms, graduation and end of the year celebrations. For students as a whole, they are missing out on face to face interactions with their friends, peers and teachers. With the word of cancellations every day, the class of 2020 fears the worst may happen. The cancellation of Prom and graduation are two of the biggest fears.
Two things that the senior class look forward to the most are Prom and Graduation. While Prom is something that we may have only been preparing for the last few months, Graduation is something that we have been working towards since Kindergarten. How do we prepare when we don’t know what the final outcome will be? Do we rent tuxes, buy dresses, order flowers, so many questions remain. One thing we know is that we will graduate, but what that will look like is the question. Our dream was to walk across that stage in front of all our friends and family. A walk that will exude confidence and proudness. We dream of sitting amongst the 451 classmates and listen intently as our Valedictorian attempts to deliver a speech about just how wonderful the class of 2020 is and all that we achieved over the years. Finally, we dream of taking our tassels and flipping them from right to left, signifying the completed high school journey. Those dreams are now filled with thoughts of not sitting amongst our classmates, not having our families there to support us as we complete our high school journey. We are faced with a very real reality of getting our diplomas in the mail, never being able to put on our caps and gowns, and never putting on the formal dress or tux that makes us feel like Royalty, even if just for one night. We are feeling robbed
However, we know that we are strong and that we can overcome anything. We were born in the wake of 9/11 when citizens felt insecure and powerless and we are now facing similar times with the COVID-19 Pandemic. There are a lot of unknowns, but one thing I do know is the Class of 2020 will come out stronger than ever because of it. We may miss some monumental events or they may not happen the way we dreamed, but that won’t take away from all that we accomplished during our high school career. People call us the class with the clearest vision and I think they are right. If anyone can make light of a bad situation, it is the class of 2020.”