As you already know, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has put all events happening around the world in the coming months to an instant halt. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics have been pushed to 2021 as well as all sports have been indefinitely suspended. This is a dramatic time for everyone around the globe, for people born post World War II this could very well be the scariest time they could have ever lived through. It’s obviously not just the sports world being put to a halt, it’s also the world economy and affecting many more world events like politics. This is all happening in the midst of the 2020 U.S. Presidential election cycle. Some people think the virus may have an impact on the result of the election; while others think that people shouldn’t be worried about the election because there are crazier things going on in the world.

High school seniors may be worried about the election outcome (no matter what political party they support) or the virus in its entirety. The major talking points of interest for the members of the class of 2020 like myself is having to finish their high school career online, not being able to share the possible last memories for a while with their high school friends, in person graduation, or the most important for some, senior prom. Senior prom means that you are done with high school and you get to celebrate that with your whole class.

I’ve been seeing all over the internet high school and college seniors asking “why my year?”, “everybody got to experience the things I didn’t get to experience.” My personal response to that is: things like COVID-19 are hard to predict, and it’s not anyone’s fault. Schools had to be closed for the students and staff member’s safety, and one should be glad that they get to attend school from the comfort of their own home. Yes, some teachers may assign more work than they would if you were in school, but it’s most likely because extracurricular activities are canceled, which gives one more time to complete school work. Do I think this is a right thing to do on a teacher's part? Of course not. However, I do understand their point of view, and some students, like myself, find additional work very stressful. Especially as a high school senior. I am fed up with being at home and school work is not helping me stay motivated. 

Just know that you aren’t alone. All high schoolers, college students, and even professionals are going through the same exact difficult times as you. Everything is virtual and the virus unfortunately doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. All aspects of the world are affected, and I truly hope COVID-19 shows signs of disappearing in the not-too-distant future.