2020. Senior year. My year. Our year.
My senior year started during the summer when soccer workouts began. I was thankfully able to participate in soccer for my last year.
Practicing in the hot sun and goofing around with Coach Chris Larsen, driving to our last away games and eating at Taco Bell or some fast food joint after a game and even having a senior night — a night that every senior remembers for the rest of their life.
Thankfully, I was able to enjoy soccer and the ups and downs that came with it. The beginning of my senior year was looking really good. Aside from soccer, football was doing amazing, too. Winning every home and away game and becoming one of the best teams in the state.
Not only that, but the student section was always packed. These are the nights that seniors remember. Everything was great, schoolwork was coming along and we were ready. Everyone loves senior year, but the things a lot of seniors look forward to are events like senior skip day, senior day, senior prom, the awards banquet, and finally, walking across that stage.
Who would have imagined that we’d get a senior skip day, but instead of a day, it would be four months? If you would have told me that my last day of high school was March 13, I would have said “yeah, no”.
But here we are sitting at home in quarantine doing almost nothing. There are so many things that us seniors will miss. We might not get to walk across a normal stage, have a normal prom, or even finish out the last days of high school with our close friends.
My senior year was great for the most part because I was able to play soccer and enjoy a majority of my year. My heart, however, goes out to the student-athletes who didn’t get to play their last season of baseball, soccer, softball or tennis.
I specifically want to thank all my teachers from my years of school in Richmond County, I couldn’t have become the student I am today without you. Thank you Mrs. Debbie, Mrs. Slack, Mrs. Freeman, Ms. Bailey, Mrs. Seals, and Mrs. Staub. You all prepared me so well for middle school.
Thank you Mrs. McDonald, Mrs. Harwood, Mrs. Shelly, Ms. Pierce, Mr. Guerry, Mrs. Usewicz, Mrs. Wikane, Ms. Cullers, Mrs. Deane, Mrs. Keiser and Mr. Hudson. You all taught me how to better apply myself so that I would flourish in high school.
Thank you Mrs. Bruce, Mrs. Wyatt, Ms. Collins, Mrs. Elvis, Mrs. Hudson, Coach Denson, Coach Hadinger, Mrs. Brubaker, Mrs. Howard, Mr. Jones, Mr. Diggs, Mrs. Russell, Mr. Learn, Col. Ring and Coach Larsen. All of you made high school so memorable and enjoyable, as well as preparing me for the next chapter in my life.
Teaching is an underrated and underpaid profession, yet all of you work so hard to see growth in students such as myself. Thank you all for your commitment and hard work over these past years.
While the class of 2020 may be having a rough year now, I believe our future is bright with many great things to come.
This is my story, but this is our year.
