Page 3 - The Edge Issue 8

Letter to the Seniors
To the Class of 2020:
Three months ago, no one could have ever expected your senior year to turn out like this. Three months ago, it would have been unthinkable that you would be in online school, that businesses would be shuttered, and that social gatherings would be taboo. But unfortunately, the tumultuous and unpredictable nature of the historic times in which we’re living- the unknown variables and uncertain futures- have characterized your senior year.
It’s a year every high school student looks forward to. It was supposed to be the stuff of movies: late nights with friends, moments of breathless excitement before the prom, a corsage clinging to your wrist or too-tight dress shoes on your feet. You were supposed to feel the excitement in the air when the graduation song started to play. You were supposed to walk onstage, cheered on by your friends and family, as you accepted your diploma. You were supposed to be making memories.
It is unfair.
With a pandemic sweeping throughout the world and lives being lost every day, you might feel that it’s childish to think about the senior year experiences you won’t get to have or the memories you won’t get to make. But these things, while they may seem minor from a global perspective, are important to you. It is okay to feel cheated. It is okay to feel robbed. It is okay to feel sadness over what you’ve lost.
There’s nothing that I or anyone else can say to minimize the unfortunate reality of your loss. No matter what, this situation is rough.
One positive thing I can say, though, is that this unfortunate reality may have a silver lining- it could help you prepare for the independence of the college lifestyle you’ll soon be living.
Hear me out.
A student’s level of autonomy gradually increases over their years in school. Upperclassmen aren’t carefully guided in their assignments and responsibilities the way seventh graders are. Seniors like you are expected to have a more independent learning style in order to adjust to college classes, in which students take charge of their own education and manage their own time.
So, learning how to survive and learn in your newly online classes may actually have an upside. Now, you have to wake up every day by yourself, without the pressure of your 8:30 first period looming over you. You have to budget your time and learn how to schedule without the daily bell reminding you. You have to practice healthy habits and exercise without sports teams or gym routines forcing you to. You have to know when to take breaks and when to return to your desk.
It might all seem daunting and overwhelming, like you’ve been thrown into the deep end and told to swim. But the skills you’re building now are the ones that are most important to surviving and thriving in college.
Don’t get me wrong.
No one is getting an hour of exercise every day, budgeting their online school seamlessly into their daily routine, and perfectly maintaining their health and wellbeing all at once. No one is adjusting to this new lifestyle perfectly.
But the act of acclimatization- being forced to practice some self-discipline and independence- is helping you even if you aren’t doing it perfectly. If you’re struggling, it just means that you’re learning.
The fact that you’re missing out on senior experiences is never going to somehow be flipped to a positive. We have to acknowledge that that consequence is heart-wrenching for many seniors. The “silver lining” isn’t going to erase your senior year blues.
Reminding yourself, however, that you’re gaining experience in autonomy that previous classes of seniors never had access to may help you to adjust to the unfolding events of the pandemic more easily.
And if you just remember one thing, let it be this- your Edgewood community is here to offer you overwhelming support. Underclassmen like me don’t know what you’re going through, but we can support you. We know that you may be struggling. And from this experience, we will all come out stronger.
Phoenix Boggs, Editor in Chief