A High School Senior’s perspective of life during the pandemic

The times we are in are unlike anything anyone has seen before. Businesses are shut down, people are staying in their homes to safely social distance, and the toilet paper shelves are experiencing a drought greater than Lake Marion had in Mazomanie the past few years. While I can give less than most in terms of advice or what is going to happen going forward through this pandemic, what I can give is an insight into what it is like to have these crazy months also be the last of my months in high school. This is my view on the Coronavirus from the perspective of a senior in high school. My last day of high school was going to be something I remembered for a long time, and probably never forget. Well, it will still be a day I don’t forget, but for all the wrong reasons. Instead of cherishing my last day with my favorite teachers and closest friends, I was met with discussion after discussion of the uncertainty of the future. Instead of a mix of fear and excitement for what life after graduation would be like, I was left with all of the fear and none of the excitement. And I’m not the only one, for this is obviously not a situation unique to seniors in high school. Everyone is unsure. Everyone is at least a little anxious or scared. There are just certain things that this pandemic does that is unique on its effects on the senior students. The spring sports season is full of sun, fun, and the excitement of students as they race towards summer. Now, however, this has come to a screeching and saddening halt. The dugouts are empty, the soccer fields are silent, and the track is left at a stand-still. All of the spring sports that normally bring so much joy and passion from athletes are now gone. And those athletes are left with this season seemingly gone. Some of the sports that students spend their entire school year looking forward to and training for are now nothing more than hopes that will never be realized. For seniors, it was their last chance to win conference. Or go to state. Or most importantly, play and compete in the sport they love with their team. Sports aren’t the only thing that has been ripped away from students. Though it was so close we could almost taste, this year’s spring play High-schooler’s Guide to the Galaxy was one of the first things to get postponed or canceled due to Coronavirus at Wisconsin Heights High School. Our last day at school was also supposed to be opening night for the play, and for a senior actor like myself and others in the Drama Club, it was most likely going to be our last time to perform on stage. I got called out of class to be told that we wouldn’t be performing that night. I was in the middle of my culinary class, icing my cake. While the news and everything else I heard that day and the days to come would be extremely sour to hear, I would be lying if I said the cake wasn’t sweet enough to brighten my mood if only a little. Currently, online school is the method in which students are continuing their education at Wisconsin Heights. While the change has been pretty drastic and different, the administration, teachers, and students have worked hard to make everything work smoothly. From my own experiences with online school as well as what I have been told by many of my peers, things seem to be going as smoothly as we could hope for. So, while the way of learning has altered and shifted, I am confident that Wisconsin Heights has done everything they can to be helpful for everyone. There are so many things that this global pandemic is affecting, and I thought some would like to hear what it is like to be a senior in high school during this time. Is it the worst effect of this virus? Obviously not. The safety and health of everyone are much more important than the last few months of school being taken from the class of 2020. However, it’s not to say that students graduating this year aren’t facing any sort of loss at all. The final season of our favorite extracurriculars. The last memories in class with our friends since Kindergarten. And the tossing of our caps after accepting our diplomas on graduation day. But these are all things that must be done in order to help flatten the curve and stop this horrible virus that we are all facing. And so, we must all come together… By staying apart. Stay healthy and stay safe.