Almost a year ago, students throughout the country were told to stay at home due to the coronavirus outbreak, and that quarantine should only last a few weeks. Now, twelve months after being sent home, there are students who are still learning online.
The class of 2021 is now facing at least three obstacles: living in a pandemic, having most seniors activities cancelled, and senioritis.
Like the current senior class of 2021, class of 2020 also had to spend part of their senior year learning from home, knowing that the rest of the activities they were anticipating were soon to be cancelled.
“I was looking forward to the end of the school year events such as Grad-Bash, prom, and most importantly graduation, but the longer we stayed home the more I realized we just weren’t going to have those things. That was a bummer,” said Astrid Gedeon, a 2020 alumna of Miami Lakes Educational Center.
However, unlike the class of 2020, who were able to attend Senior Social and Senior Brunch, the current seniors have not been able to attend any of the traditional events because of safety concerns regarding COVID-19.
Knowing that such events would not be taking place made room for additional lack of motivation on top of the senioritis that they are already dealing with.
“I feel like our senior year got robbed because it’s like there’s no way to truly make up our senior year after we missed so much and at this point I feel kind of numb,” said Elijah Jean-Gilles, a senior in CISCO, Information Technology at MLEC.
While all of these factors contribute to seniors having difficulty to stay on track and keep moving forward, there are ways to hold on to some of that motivation for the next few months.
Stay organized.
Getting assignments done and having time to do the things that you love will become even more difficult if you don’t know what they are. Keeping track of all the tasks that you have — whether it’s through using a physical or electronic calendar, agenda, a bullet journal, or by plastering five sticky notes on your wall — will ease the feeling of drowning in an immense amount of work and responsibilities.
With that, seniors can also offer incentives to themselves to ensure that they are getting assignments done, while also leaving time to take breaks and enjoy themselves. For example, students can reward themselves with watching their favorite Netflix movie after finishing an important assignment. It’s important to not overwhelm yourself with work and to, instead, take a break.
Use your support system.
There are probably other close friends who understand exactly what you are feeling or are willing to support and listen. These are the same people you can vent to whenever you’re feeling down and the people who can give words of encouragement whenever you’re experiencing your lows. In addition, it’s important to keep tabs on your mental health — checking in with your TRUST Counselor may also be an option to consider.
Even with all this, seniors will likely find their greatest source of motivation from knowing this simple fact: they’re almost there. There are less than four months left in the school year, and keeping that in mind can provide all the encouragement needed.
“What helped our seniors remain motivated was the constant thought that in a few months high school would end; college is around the corner; and, a new life is waiting,” said Yasmine Mezawi, Class of 2020 Vice President and alumna.
“But you can’t close a chapter before it’s ready to be closed. So don’t give up on this last chapter of your high school year because it’ll affect the next chapters of your life,” added Mezawi.
So even when it feels like there’s no point in working anymore, remember how much work had to be put in to get this far. Don’t throw away any progress made.
“It might not feel worth it now but it will in the future, and you’ll thank yourself. You want to know that you at least tried your best and gave it your all,” said Astrid.
