As I stare into my computer screen looking at a blank white page waiting to be typed on, my current thoughts disappear, and I’m left with a blank mind. “A Letter to the Class of 2020.”
Suddenly, the bright and vivid memories of my times in high school come flooding in and I am consumed with happiness. Because that’s what these four years were supposed to lead up to, happiness. Freshmen year, I was scared. We were scared. Scared of this new environment filled with people we don’t know, teachers who intimidated us, and fear of what’s to come. Well, these people that we didn’t know became long-lasting friends who we trust so dearly. Teachers who were intimidating became teachers we will never forget. And the fear of what’s to come became memories that will be ingrained in our hearts forever. But high school was not always as easy or as bubbly. It was hard. We struggled at fitting in, wearing the right clothes, getting a passing grade in our classes, dealing with family, participating in school clubs, talking to our crushes, and overall, we struggled with surviving the next 4 years of our lives.
Then, as we get closer to completing our senior year, the final stage of high school, our pathway to graduation was interrupted by COVID-19. This was a new kind of struggle for us. A new obstacle that we all needed to overcome as a class and as a family. How’s that going? Honestly, not as good as I thought it would be. Yeah, the first two weeks were a much-needed vacation from school, but then it dwelled on me. We are not going back to school. No more grad bash, no more prom, no more graduation. Our senior year has been stripped away from us and we can’t do anything about it, but overcome this obstacle together.
One last time. Class of 2020, I am proud of everything you have accomplished over these 4 years. You did it. You became the first in your family to ever graduate high school, you passed that difficult AP class that you worked so hard for, you successfully got a job and put a down payment on your first car. You did that and I am so proud of you. Make the best of this year and finish strong. We only get one senior year and it went pretty fast. Notice how the beginning of this letter was a bit slow? Drawn out? And then, as you got closer to the end, it sped up? This was what high school was like for me and probably for other students as well. When we first entered as freshmen, we thought this was going to be the longest 4 years of our lives.
Then, in a blink of an eye, it disappeared. Just as my thoughts disappeared when I stared at my computer screen.
Kristina Alzugaray, Class of 2020, Cutler Bay Senior High