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Dear High School Senior,

If you’re anything like me, this year has felt like a dream. We’ve finally arrived to stand under the hard-earned spotlight of our senior year.

We had ordered our caps and gowns, and we awaited the day when we would sit next to our best friends and hear our names called at graduation.

HOW THE CLASS OF 2020 WILL GRADUATE DURING A PANDEMIC

And then, like a clap of thunder jarring us back to reality, we woke up from our picture-perfect dream.

We were in the home stretch of this marathon called high school. But just as we rounded the corner to meet the finish line, the race got called off.

We have been forced from our schools and teams. Rather than spending our last months surrounded by friends and teachers, we have been banished to the solitude of our own homes. The very nature of the virus itself demands isolation: social distancing, self-quarantine, six feet of separation. It’s no wonder we feel so alone.

The question of a return to normalcy is no longer when, but if. We don’t know if we will be able to walk across the stage at graduation. Many of us had our last day of high school without even realizing it.

Here’s what I want to tell you, high school senior: You are allowed to be upset. You are allowed to mourn this loss. Our lives have been uprooted, and it hurts.

I felt sharply the sting of a senior year stopped in its tracks. I spent days wallowing in grief over the missed opportunities I worked so hard for. My sadness was warranted, but here’s the deal: Each one of us is at a crossroads, and we must choose the path to take. We can either continue down the road of self-pity, or we can rise up.

I spent days wallowing in grief over the missed opportunities I worked so hard for. My sadness was warranted, but here’s the deal: Each one of us is at a crossroads, and we must choose the path to take. We can either continue down the road of self-pity, or we can rise up.

I don’t know about you, but I’m going to choose to make the most of these days. I didn’t plan for them, I wouldn’t wish for them, but I’ve resolved to use them for good nonetheless. I challenge you to do the same.

I have three points I want to make to you, high school senior, about what can be gained from this ordeal.

First, time at home with family can be a blessing if you choose to use it. For eighteen years, many of us haven’t gone more than a couple of days without seeing our parents, siblings, and pets. Soon we won’t be seeing them for weeks or months at a time.

My first challenge to you is the cherish this time with family. Even when you’ve all gone stir-crazy. Make memories with your family that you can cherish for the rest of your life. Join in on family movie night. Stay up until midnight talking with your sister. Don’t trade precious time spent with family for hours spent locked in your room, scrolling through Tik Tok.

Some of you may not have the best home life. If that is you, reach out to the life-giving mentors and friends in your life.

Second, philosopher Seneca the Younger once said, “Time is the one thing that is given to everyone in equal measure.” His words are simple but true: Each of us gets 24 hours each day. It’s up to us how we use it.

As seniors, life feels like a constant race against the clock. Yet now, life has been halted.

Time is at our disposal. I challenge you to not waste it. Use this time to grow yourself. Pursue a new skill. Read that book you’ve always wanted to read. Put genuine effort into your schoolwork, whether it’s required or not.

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Finally, I challenge you to view this pandemic as a learning opportunity. We all seem to carry on with our lives without a care in the world until we are completely stopped in our tracks. Here’s a valuable lesson: Nothing in life is promised. And once this whole coronavirus craze is over, let’s not forget it. Make the most of every second. Know that no tomorrow is never guaranteed.

As challenging as this has been, let’s maintain perspective. Thousands of people around the world are sick and dying. Many have lost their jobs or are mourning the loss of loved ones. Though it doesn’t minimize your struggle, remember that the world is struggling alongside us. None of us is in this alone.

The night that I learned of my school’s cancellation, my mom showed me a Facebook post that was a profound reminder about the Class of 2020: We entered this world in the shadow of 9/11. And now we will graduate in the midst of the pandemic of the century.

Class of 2020, we are still in our youth, yet we have already experienced terrifying turmoil and great unrest. We have been beaten down and shoved to the side by this unforgiving world. We have felt discouraged, disparaged, and disheartened by the suffering that seems to surround us.

Yet we don’t have to crumble under pressure or succumb to the merciless waves. Let’s rise from the adversity that threatens to drag us down.

We will persist. We will persevere. We will overcome.

Class of 2020, we are nothing if not resilient.

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Sincerely,

A High School Senior