Introspections
TO T H E C LAS S O F
By G E N E S I S R O S A R I O
I
t’s a goal many of us have had since primary school: walking proudly across the stage, knowing you accomplished not only four years of high school but also twelve years of public education, and simply hearing the sound of your name while accepting your diploma. You dream of getting ready for senior pictures, prom, and graduation, seeing the smile on your mother’s face as you walk across the stage in a cap and gown, feeling the rush of emotions while changing the tassel from the right to the left. Senior year is already a time filled with ups and downs. In the first semester, we are preparing our college applications—probably the most stressful time of our lives. And now, due to these challenging times, the Class of 2020 around the world is dealing not only with the loss of their senior year but also with the losses, stress, and anxiety brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
O N PAU S E I am a senior at a public school in Manhattan, New York City, the city that “never sleeps,” but a city that’s currently sleeping. Brooklyn, where I live, is a ghost town. The bodegas, the Salvadoran and Dominican restaurants, and all the other places I love are closed. I’m not seeing my mom, who is an essential worker and sent me to quarantine at my grandma’s so as not to put me in harm’s way. Not seeing my entire family has become normal. I understand the loss many seniors around the globe are feeling as we think, How did this happen? Quarantine started around mid-March. My friends and I had anticipated it would only last a week or two but little did we know about the pandemic ahead of us. The word pandemic now weighs heavily whenever I say it. We couldn’t imagine the chaos we would see: the president and the governor talking about it every day, our future in their hands as they dictated, “Stay home,” “School is closed,” or “Essential workers, go work.”
Accepting Acceptance
The last day of school for me was like any other day at school: I saw my friends, had class, and went home expecting to repeat everything the next day. By this time in March, I had applied to colleges and was just waiting on their decisions. I was starting to feel stress-free and looked forward to enjoying the rest of my senior year. Suddenly, all the talk at school turned into “stay home, be safe,
