I Spent my Senior Year in Quarantine
By Janay Luke | She/Her/Hers | Seattle, Washington
June 12, 2020
On March 12th, 2020 I walked out of my high school not knowing it would be my last time ever. When the announcement was made that school was going to be canceled for six weeks due to COVID-19 I was shocked and was in disbelief. This was six weeks that were being taken away from my senior year. After a few weeks, the Governor announced that school and all school activities would be canceled for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year including graduation ceremonies. I couldn’t believe it; my senior year had abruptly ended. My senior year was over without the things that are packed into a typical senior year: senior sunset, prom, and even graduation. I wouldn’t be able to create all these memories with my friends that would last a lifetime. Instead of remembering my senior year with these lasting memories, I’ll remember that it was cut short and I wasn’t able to see my friends for three or more months. I was fortunate enough to play my final season of basketball, but I feel for my classmates who missed out on playing their senior season. I had taken advantage of going to school every day, walking the halls of my school, and seeing my teachers every day expecting to see them the next day.
I remember when I was younger, I was looking forward to graduation and saw it as the “finish line” of school.
“But now that “finish line” has been taken away and the race has been canceled.”
I remember sitting through five other graduation ceremonies for my sisters and cousins and I couldn’t wait for it to be my turn. My senior year was not what I imagined it to be and instead of spending these last few months with my friends, I’m spending them at home talking to my friends through a screen, picking up my cap and gown through a drive-through system and not having a graduation ceremony or possibly having one through a laptop screen. This wasn’t the way I thought it would end.
There are so many “negatives” that I could be upset and angry about; but as a Buddhist I’m seeing so many “positives” that I could take away from this and learn from. I know that this is not a permanent situation and quarantine will be over. I am so grateful and fortunate that I was able to enjoy the senior year that I got such as going to football games, senior sunrise, and of course a memorable last basketball season. I was still able to create some unforgettable memories from my senior year and that is something that I can be thankful for. I am grateful that my friends, family and I are all healthy and staying well.
“This is not the way I thought my senior year would be remembered but it will definitely not be forgotten, and I am grateful for every second of it.”
Even though I could look at this as something that is being taken away from me and question “why is this happening to me?” I could look at this as an opportunity to take advantage of what I have and what is being given to me today and be grateful for it because you never know what tomorrow is going to bring.
