Members of Linsly’s Senior Class of 2020 offer their reflections on what has been anything but a typical end to their senior year of high school. With the future of senior activities including prom, graduation, and senior week still uncertain, Linsly seniors are making the best of their final semester at Linsly and offer their reflections in this series of essays.
Above All Else… I’ve learned not to take the simplest things for granted.
Since the beginning of my time at Linsly, six years ago to be exact, I’ve dreamt of all that my senior year would hold. I used to admire the older students experiencing their final few days of class, shirt-signing day, goodbyes and hugs with friends and teachers, prom, and graduation. I used to count down the days that I had left, not to make the time go faster, but to remind myself to cherish it all. Sadly, none of these milestones are certain anymore, as the 2019-2020 school year was cut short because of the coronavirus. Now, my school has shifted to an online learning system.
There are so many aspects of in-person school that I miss now, one of which being my friends and teachers. Above all else, these circumstances have taught me not to take even the simplest things for granted. From lunches spent laughing with my best friends to greeting my teachers when I enter their classrooms, I never took the time to fully appreciate the support that my school has given me. There really isn’t a way to put into words the environment that Linsly manages to create, a community held together by loving one another’s differences and holding each other to high standards in character and schoolwork.
Despite not being able to be physically together, Linsly has proven their quality as a school through their efforts to keep their student body learning and engaged. There is no way to deny that online class has been a challenge for both teachers and students, as this is a sort of uncharted territory in terms of teaching and learning. In this way, I think my teachers are doing a really wonderful job because I know it must be difficult to conduct their classes this way. Nonetheless, they’ve managed to continue to be incredibly supportive and ask on a regular basis how they can make things easier for us.
Looking back – A time of Personal Growth and Change
Coming into Linsly as a very nervous seventh grader, I never could have known how my new school could change me so drastically for the better. Looking back, it feels like I was a completely different person. Though six years generally does result in some pretty major changes in a person, I credit Linsly with a great majority of these. One major difference that I’ve noticed in myself has been my speech impediment. I’ve had a stutter for almost all my life, and it used to be my biggest insecurity. Now, it is usually barely noticeable in conversation. I think this improvement came from many different factors– the confidence that I gained at Linsly, the support from my peers, as well as the practice with public speaking that Linsly provides. An improvement in a speech impediment may seem like a miniscule change, but to me, it meant everything. I now feel comfortable speaking my mind, and I’m generally a more outgoing person.
Sending me to Linsly was one of the best choices my family ever made for me. From the very beginning of my time there, my teachers taught me skills that will help me in college, like how to manage my time, how to annotate a book, how to write a research paper, and public speaking. Academically, I feel like I am as prepared as one could be for college. Specifically, I took AP Psychology with Mr. Foley, which quickly became my favorite class. When deciding what would be my major in college, I thought of how much I enjoyed learning about human behavior and cognition and how that knowledge could be applied in helping people in everyday life. I have Linsly and my teachers to thank for guiding me in the direction of my future career path.
Embracing a New Normal and Cherishing the Little Things
Though I certainly miss school, my time at home with my family has been refreshing. It was strange at the beginning, but I’ve found a routine that works for me. On a general basis, I wake up at around seven-thirty, shockingly without an alarm, and have a cup of coffee with my mom. Then, I begin doing my schoolwork. At about three every day, my mom and I go on an hour walk. One thing that online school has taught me is time management, which will definitely prepare me for college. The flexibility of my schedule is also a really great thing about online school because I’m able to spend time with my loved ones.
It’s been a difficult time for everyone regarding the uncertain nature of Linsly’s oldest traditions, including graduation and many other events. I had a lot to look forward to being a senior, and I had a lot of high expectations coming into my senior year. As young people, we tend to plan the rest of our lives in very concrete ways, but things don’t always go according to plan. There will almost always be bumps in the road that make these plans just a little different, but I don’t think different is a bad thing. Our graduation is now being tentatively postponed until July, which I believe is in everyone’s best interest. I do wish, however, that students from other states and countries who are now home could be able to celebrate their graduation. Postponing our plans may seem disappointing to some, but it will allow us to hopefully celebrate in a way that is similar to our traditions.
As I prepare to attend West Virginia University in the fall, I can’t help but think about the fact that my possible last day with my high school peers was Thursday, March 12, and none of us had any idea. We had our last advisor meetings, our last classes, our last meals together, and we all walked out the doors one last time. Had I known, I would have said proper goodbyes to many of my friends from far away who have now gone back home. This virus has caused a wide variety of heartbreaks all over the world, affecting each person differently, but I have a feeling we are all going to cherish the little things just a little bit more after it is all over.
