All of high school we are waiting for those final days of senior year, the last few moments until we are free from high school forever. But I don’t have those final days of high school. I don’t even have those final months of high school. All I have is my teachers piling on work through itslearning as I am trapped in my home, watching my senior year slip away. For seniors, not only school is cancelled. Prom is cancelled. ASPA–my last newspaper conference–is cancelled. My last dance recital is cancelled. Graduation may be cancelled. All of these senior year mile stones have been knocked right over by COVID-19.

If I’m completely honest, I’m okay with missing prom; I’ve been to enough homecomings that I don’t have much need for another school dance. But I’m upset that it’s cancelled–not because I can’t wait for the dance itself, but because it’s an iconic high school event that we waited four years to attend and is supposed to be our right as seniors. This is my only chance to have a prom. And I’m forced to miss it. 

Even more frustrating is the threat to graduation that COVID-19 presents. I’ve worked hard these last four years, and I want recognition for my–and every senior’s–hard work. Each of us deserve to walk across that stage and accept our diploma. Now we may not get that chance.

I know this virus will likely wreck the economy, kill thousands more people, and force several cities, states, and countries into quarantine, so maybe it’s selfish to complain about how it is affecting my senior year. But this feels like a big deal–to me and to other seniors. We spent four years in these yellowing halls, and we want to walk out of them on our last day–not simply log out of itslearning for the last time.

*COMMENTARY*