FIRST PLACE
CELEBRATING THE
‘CORONAVIRUS
CLASS of 2020’ BY VERENA DANIEL BRANDYWINE CLASS OF 2020
I
sat in my car an extra minute on the morning of March 13, trying to figure out how to make my early final day of high school last a little longer. That day was a blur of discussions about what online learning would look like for the few weeks we were scheduled to be out of the classroom. In the middle of all of that, our class met in the gym to take the senior class photo. As I waited to be placed with my row by the photographer, I looked around the gym and at each of my classmates, watching them talking and laughing in groups. I desperately wanted to drink in these last moments. Even with the excitement that the end of year photo brought, the room felt heavy with emotion. Confusion, sadness, uncertainty. Behind every smile we put on for the camera, I know we all wondered when, if ever, we would be celebrating together again. The feelings and thoughts I had in the days immediately following were unexplainable. Not only was I wondering what I’d be missing in those few weeks, I was worried about what we would be missing out on if we drew closer to April, and the
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HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOK • CLASS OF 20202
situation wasn’t any better. I thought endlessly about my last quiz bowl season being cut short, and my last season of track and field that I had waited for all year being impacted as well. I thought about the possibility of prom, graduation and so many other big events being canceled, and not having one last chance to dress up and dance the night away with my best friends. I was disappointed about the honors assembly being canceled, and our class never getting to be recognized for our hard work over the last four years.
I constantly checked the news, hoping for signs that the social distancing measures were working, and we’d be going back to school in time. I realized I would probably never be back at school, and came to terms with it as best I could. It felt like something was missing. After 13 years of school, having it all end practically overnight made it hard to find closure. I know I’m not alone in feeling like this, not by a long shot. I know the entire class of 2020 is going through this together. Through this unprecedented time, we’re realizing how resilient we are. For many of us, this is the first major crisis we’ve faced in our young lives. It’s kind of interesting timing in a way. Most of us were born in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. We came into the world as it was picking up the pieces and figuring out how to heal from that horrific day. As my senior class enters adulthood, we find ourselves thrust into another catastrophe. It only makes sense that as we leave this phase of our lives, we’re doing it in a time that will be talked about in “I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing” conversations years from now. We knew lots of changes were coming this year after graduation, and we were just getting excited to start our college
