COVID-19 has created many unprecedented circumstances, most notably the inability to have a normal school year. For many seniors, this year was meant to be full of aspirations and acknowledgment for their accomplishments.
Here are the class of 2021’s thoughts on their final year during a pandemic.
“Although this certainly wasn’t the senior year anyone would’ve imagined having, there’s an element to it that I find very special: Covid may have physically separated us, but it’s made me feel a lot closer to my peers because I take comfort knowing we’re all experiencing the same things. Everything is all very new and we are all working through it together, so just having the support of each other is really important for everyone. I’m hopeful for the chance to come back granted that circumstances change and become safer for us, but for now, all we can do is work with what we have in the present moment,” Katherine Luong said.“ASB has been trying so hard to include the seniors and make everything seem a little normal and I love all the little things here and there they’ve been doing since school started. It’s obviously not nearly the same as being at school to do all the activities we usually do but the thought truly does go a long way and it’s very nice. There’s not much they can do other than the little activities they have been doing so they should just keep an ear out if any students have some good ideas to be included. Personally, the least I want to end the year with is a senior prom. So many kids look forward to their senior prom and it would be so sad for the class of 2021 to graduate never having been to a prom before. If that’s off the table then I’d very much love to go to the senior grad night if prom is too early in the year to be permitted but we can only hope that at least prom will be included this year. It truly sucks to have grown up being told that high school, in particular your senior year, will be a time where you make some great memories. This definitely did not turn out to be the High School Musical experience I was hoping for but I just hope I can end my senior year smoothly and safely with all my fellow classmates,” Razanne Dawood said.“This year, I decided to enroll in the hybrid form of school, because I wanted to have more interaction with my teachers, friends, and classmates, and get the best experience possible for my last year of Highschool. I also chose the Hybrid model, because I thought that being able to freely interact with my teachers would help me better learn. Personally, I don’t have many concerns about the health and safety at school, because I trust that everyone is being responsible, and if they are feeling sick, or have been in contact with others will stay home and keep everyone safe…Altogether, I am excited to experience this unique year of high school, and am optimistic that as the year continues, we will be able to have everyone return to campus. I hope that everyone can work together to keep everyone safe, and I look forward to seeing everyone again once this pandemic dies down,” Hunter Augustus said.“I would love to have prom and graduation to still be scheduled. I’m sure everyone does, but I doubt that it would happen. With the rate we’ve been at, it’s hard to say that we will get any events this year, sadly. Even if there were safety guidelines at the events, I don’t think it would be the same. I would rather throw my own small prom with the few friends I have. Though, it would still be disappointing to see. I’m really sad at what my senior year has come to. Your last year of high school should be the time of having fun. I’ve worked my butt off the first three years so I could relax my last year, now I can’t even do that. I don’t get to see my friends often and now have to do school with my (noisy) family. It’s a tough situation to be in,” Emily Le said.
“Overall, this senior year hasn’t been the worst experience ever, I feel like I’ve been able to use this time to grow in who I am and figure out myself, which has been amazing. I have also realized who my closest friends are and have learned to make every hangout or time with my friends and family count. I honestly, wouldn’t change anything about what has happened in my life this past year. I just hope that by the end of senior year, I can attend college on a high note, and have no regrets about high school,” Sarah Jang said. “Personally, senior year has been the most difficult for me so far. I’m still learning how to properly study so that I can maximize my understanding of the material presented online. A lot of times I feel this pressure and expectation to do as well as I did when everything was normal. If you think about it, for the last eleven [years] we’ve grown accustomed to be learning and taking notes in a physical classroom setting; everything was hands-on. Now that everything is digitalized, I feel like I’ve lost that connection I had with my classmates and teachers. Sometimes I’m literally losing Wi-Fi connection too, and it’s super frustrating. I’m really thankful for all of my teachers and people at our school that are working so hard to make sure that students are able to learn during the pandemic, but it can be extremely overwhelming at times. Especially with college applications on top of the heavy workload, it is easy to become burnt out,” Mindy Doan said.“I think ASB is doing a good job trying to make the school lively as if we were in the classroom. I have noticed there are weekly discussion boards created on Canvas where students can answer a prompt and comment on each other. I think it is very important that we keep in touch with people and these discussion boards help students to bond with other students and emphasize that we are in this pandemic together. I would love to have a senior prom for my last year of high school. I think it is a major event that we were to reflect on when we’re older. If not prom, I really hope that we have in-person graduation. It would be heartbreaking if we had to receive our diplomas isolated from other people and have to wave at our classmates that we spent 4 years with from our cars. It is difficult to be going through college applications and making life decisions with little to no guidance. However, we are not alone. We are all in this together and I hope we are able to reach our goals in the end. Class of 2021 we got this,” Mona Takuma said.“ASB and FVHS have been doing an absolute fantastic job of trying to make these unusual times into something that is easier for us to manage and give us a sense of normalcy. With the isolation at home, the discussion posts on canvas are a great way to reach out and connect with other students on campus. One thing I’d like to see are more grade oriented events. Because hybrid is in full swing, perhaps something on campus with limited space and sign ups?… The status of my senior year is in a constant limbo. However for my overall mood, I can only say one word: senioritis. Especially with the online schooling, the amount of procrastination and sleeping I have been doing is almost unnatural. But I hope for a great rest of the year,” Gohan Huynh said.“I’m currently enrolled in the online version of school this year. I wanted to limit the exposure to excess amounts of people who may or may not be carrying anything that I could contract or expose to my family. Online school is not the best environment for me personally to learn. There is too much focus on lecturing and talking and it makes it hard for me to focus during class. However, the health concerns of me and my family need to come first especially without the release of a vaccine… Like most seniors prom and graduation were always what I looked forward to as a form of reward for the past four years. At this point, I don’t know if I will be able to experience them without risking the health of my family…Overall, I am not that hopeful for our senior year. While I am disappointed with how this year has turned out, I’d rather remain safe than sorry. Seeing my fellow seniors use this as an excuse to hang out in large groups and to not follow CDC guidelines is very naive. It not only puts so many people at risk but it further limits our chances for having an even slightly normal senior year,” Annie Johnson said.
