A sour contrast

Piper Diehn

Sitting on the couch with a remote, twin sisters Larissa and Kaila McCord turned on the television and began watching an hour-long Youtube video with their family. However, this wasn’t just any video. The McCords were graduating from Carlmont, and they were watching their virtual graduation ceremony together.

This virtual graduation is not what high schoolers throughout history have traditionally experienced. But for the McCords, it was the reality during 2020: the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Being impacted by COVID-19 during my senior year was really disheartening because we weren’t able to end with a senior prom, senior trip, or a real graduation,” Kaila McCord said

Unable to celebrate their graduation with friends or experience the thrill of receiving a diploma in front of a large audience of teachers and family members, the McCords ended their high school experience on a discouraging and unexpected note.

“It was fun having a virtual graduation as a last hurrah celebration, but it also was a little confusing and sad because I didn't know what to expect, and I couldn’t be together with my friends,” Kaila McCord said.

During the start of the pandemic, with social distancing restrictions in place, the McCords weren’t able to socialize in person with many of their friends.

“COVID really shaped my friendships with certain people. With some friends, I would only be able to see them if I made a big effort. And when I was able to see them, we had to social distance,” Kaila McCord said.

Although seeing friends in person was difficult during the pandemic, the McCords could still socialize with their family.

“I often wasn’t able to see friends in person, but I had a lot more time with my family before going off to college. I just tried to look at the positive side of the situation, even though it was really unexpected and unfortunate,” Larissa McCord said.

By focusing on the enjoyable parts of their high school experience, the McCords could process and accept that they weren’t going to have a completely normal senior year. According to a study by child psychiatrist Andrew Rosenfeld, an optimistic attitude improve the mental health of teenagers and children.

“I made the most of ending high school during a pandemic by accepting the fact that I was going to go to school online and that I wasn't going be able to go back in person. So, I tried to make strong connections with my friends and checked in with people frequently,” Kaila McCord said.

Both Larissa and Kaila McCord agree that the pandemic negatively affected the end of their senior year. However, when reminiscing about their four years at Carlmont, the twins feel their overall high school experience was positive.

“COVID only affected four months of my high school experience. My whole high school experience before that was really positive,” Larissa McCord said. “I was on the cheer team, and I really enjoyed it. We were able to finish our cheer season before the pandemic started.”

Kaila McCord also found that engaging in extracurricular activities gave her a positive outlook on her overall high school experience.

“I was in the Associated Student Body, and I was a part of the Reach Out commission, and that positively shaped my high school experience. Even during the lockdown, we kept in contact with students by hosting virtual hangouts,” Kaila McCord said.

Socializing with their peers and engaging in extracurricular activities throughout high school created an overall positive experience for the McCords. A study by Meliksah Demir and Lesley Weitekamp at Wayne State University revealed that when children form close friendships in their adolescent years, they are 58% more likely to experience increases in feelings of self-worth and happiness.

Lillie believes socializing is crucial when dealing with difficult experiences.

“It's important to share challenging experiences with others, rather than having to deal with them alone. Once you’ve found people who’ve dealt with the same challenging situation, you can share your experience with the people who care and support you,” Lillie said.

As their high school experience came to a close during the COVID-19 pandemic, the McCords were left with an uncertain future. Nevertheless, the twins were able to find positivity amidst the chaos of the difficult time.

“Even in a difficult experience, talking and connecting with others can lead to the development of new strengths and new depths of understanding. In the end, a difficult experience does not have to leave a negative impact,” Lillie said.