By Sam Wing, ’21

Staff Writer

Ever since our freshman year of high school, we’ve been told many stories about how epic senior year will be. When you’re a senior, you’ll get to stroll the halls with confidence, be praised during your team’s Senior Night, participate in Senior Week, attend prom, and most importantly, graduate. However, in the midst of a global pandemic, many of these opportunities and traditions have been canceled. And as a result, many seniors feel as if they can no longer experience all the joys that they are finally due. 

So what now? Do we all just sit back and learn to accept that we don’t get to have a traditional senior year? Or do we learn to adapt and create new opportunities for ourselves? In my opinion, we shouldn’t let a global pandemic stop us from obtaining some joy this year. Instead, we should try to come up with new ways to celebrate our graduation year (socially distanced, of course). For any theater folks out there, we can do virtual plays via zoom, or when the weather gets warmer, do a drive-in production outside. That way, people can stay in the comfort of their cars while remaining socially distant from everyone else. For prom, instead of attending the typical huge event with your whole grade, do a small one in your backyard with a couple of friends. You’ll get to throw on that prom dress many of us bought last year, or rent that tux, and still ensure that gatherings are kept to a minimum. And for Senior Night, create a video montage of your team’s favorite moments from the season. Teams can show the video on a zoom call, so everyone can attend and eat some popcorn at the same time. 

While these alternatives don’t necessarily resemble our traditional activities, they would still give us some sense of joy. During a time where thousands of people are dying due to a deadly virus, it’s important to maintain any sort of joy in our lives. We all need to be able to feel a sense of normalcy in order to help us stay calm. That’s the least we can do for ourselves, our families, friends, and those who are currently fighting the virus.