The "Future" Issue - 99 Volume 2, Issue 4

On Thursday, March 12 of 2020, we all gathered for the last time in the auditorium to hear that the school
was likely going online. On March 15, we logged onto our computers to begin learning from home. On April 15, we
learned that the rest of the year was going to remain online, and that senior traditions were going to be different.
Senior year is meant to be special and be a chance for us to say goodbye, something the Corona Virus took away.
As I walked into school that Thursday morning of March 12, it was just like all of the rest. I went to a meeting
I had that morning and we got right to work. After, I went to my locker and I put my stuff away. I had heard the day
before that the MLB was canceled due to the virus. For the first time, I knew something was different. I walked into
Newspaper, gathered with the rest of the crew, as we had a serious conversation. It was surreal; as everyone talked,
I heard someone say, “We don’t know it now, but this is going to change everything as we know it.”
As the day went on, no one could really focus. Everyone was all over the place, and no one was really able to
focus. I found myself leaving class more often than I usually did. I walked the halls, not thinking much of anything.
Right before school ended, we were all called to the auditorium. There, Dr. Colosimo told us that we were likely
going to be online for the next two weeks. But no one could have predicted that we weren’t going back to school at
all, and that the seniors would never walk through the halls again.
After we lost the last part of our senior year, I began to think about all the times we united as a class this
year. The first thing that came to mind is Kairos, the special retreat that only seniors are allowed to go on. For the
first time, I felt connected to my class. The day after we came back, we were united.
Our last homecoming was also a memorable moment. For the first time in all of JD history, the seniors won
the pep rally, without cheating. At the dance, each and every person was dressed up and looked stunning. We all
knew it was our last homecoming, and we savored every moment of it. The best part of it was going shopping,
picking out a dress with all my friends’ opinions, and getting to dance with them.
In the first semester, we all worked hard, and we all did everything we could to make it through. We were up
late applying to colleges, writing an essay to ‘wow’ admissions , and doing our best to earn scholarship money. We
started to plan the rest of our lives, thinking about what we wanted to be, and where we wanted to be. For the first
time, our lives felt like our own.
Even though the virus has taken so much, it hasn’t taken everything. It took away our traditional graduation,
the best part of our senior year. However, it has given us more time with our families and something to look forward
to. Before we leave for college, we are going to be closer than ever with our families.
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