As seniors, the COVID-19 outbreak has put a huge halt to our last year in high school. We were supposed to be in the final stretch of our senior year, we were supposed to be packing for our spring break trips, we were supposed to be preparing for our last high school finals, we were supposed to play our last season, and we were supposed to enjoying our lasts with friends and teachers.

This pandemic has left seniors wondering: will I be able to go to prom, will I receive all my required credits, will I be able to walk across the stage and receive my diploma? It is difficult and heart-breaking to imagine not being able to participate in all the traditional senior year activities when you have waited 12 years for those exact moments. 

Although high school seniors are in a tough place right now, I think I can speak for myself and many others when I say there are much worse things happening to other people across the world. 

First and foremost, the people who are fighting this virus in hospital without the comfort of their family and friends, and right alongside them, hospital staff members braving this pandemic on the front lines. 

On top of that, there are families who do not have adequate living spaces. There are individuals scared they might have COVID-19, but do not have the income to get tested or treated. There are people who are getting laid off from their jobs, but still have rent to pay soon. There are families who do not have the luxury to stock up on food and basic necessities. In one way or another, COVID-19 is affecting us all. 

As a senior, I have seen many people trying to tell us that we should stop complaining about not getting to experience our senior year to the full extent, but it is unfair to invalidate our feelings towards this whole situation. 

Sophia LaPinta, a senior who was supposed to play her final season of varsity soccer says, “It’s one of the biggest disappointments as being an athlete your whole life and especially not playing in college, just for something that you’ve been playing your whole life ending too soon.” 

We have looked forward to these things since we first started high school, or for some of us maybe even earlier. We have worked hard to get our GPA where we want it to be. We have skipped other events to make sure we get to practice on time. We have gone through sleepless nights to ensure that our project is the best it can be. We know people all across the world are going through unbearable times right now, but we are trying to cope as well. 

Something I have learned from this pandemic is to never take anything for granted. I know it sounds cliché, but I mean it. I used to dread waking up so early in the morning to get ready for school at 7:00 in the morning, but I would do absolutely anything to have it all back this instant. I miss walking into my first period and seeing the rest of the Shoreline editors. I miss the busyness of the halls when it was time to change classes. I miss pulling out of my painted parking spot into the parking lot filled with students rushing to get out of school.

Mary Claire Nicholl, also a senior at Lake Shore, says she misses, “seeing friends everyday and having a schedule. I wasn’t expecting it all to change so fast.”

Things really get put into perspective when one of the things we complained about the most is the thing we miss the most. 

As of right now, all events for Lake Shore seniors are scheduled to go as anticipated. Lake Shore administrators and advisors will be working hard to ensure that seniors are able to participate in all the senior year activities. 

Whether the senior events still take place or end up being canceled, the seniors will be okay and life will go on, but we are allowed to feel disappointed. Yes, there are worse things going on all around us, but we are human beings too. We are allowed to have feelings about things changing. If there is one piece of advice I can give to everyone it would be: do not dismiss someone else’s emotions because they are not the same as yours.