Senior year comes and goes in the blink of an eye. Though for many it still seems like an eternity, a majority of the time the year is spent almost reminiscing about the last three years rather than focusing on the years ahead. With reminiscing comes a chance to relive moments in the past that many students would go back and relive or change in a heartbeat. 

This bittersweet nostalgia of high school follows students all throughout their year, even with the current situation going on now. Those nights after dances when practically the entire school went to Denny’s because it was the only place open. Those timed essays that were turned in at the bell. Even those simple five minutes between the first bell and the second bell saying that lunch was almost over but no one wanted to say goodbye, so they all stayed until they had to go. 

Little moments like that are always going to be in the minds of seniors with every class they have. Their last first day of school feels almost underwhelming in a sense, until they walk through those doors and onto that campus. The similar, yet specific, smell of the campus fills the air as students are rushing around to find their classes, and they just stand there waiting to go to the places they have walked year in and year out. 

That’s when the bigger memories come through. The dances themselves when the beat would drop in a song and the floors would almost shake with the students jumping as high as they could. Those AP test days when students would all meet in front of the small gym as if they were soldiers preparing for battle with a feeling of comradery that was palatable. Of course the pep rallies that had each class fighting in this friendly yet fierce competition that showed just how strong our school could be. 

Looking back, even the deep meaningful moments hit to the core for my fellow seniors and me. Days like “Every Fifteen Minutes” that reminded students to stay safe while they drive, because taking a life is not worth wherever they need to be. Or assemblies that showed how turning your life around could be as simple as saying no to something or saying yes to an opportunity that matters more than whatever else may be holding you back. 

These are the lessons and memories that stick with us, the Class of 2020. The good and the bad, the friends we have lost who we may never speak to again and those we have kept close to us, all in these four years. No matter what has happened in the past, between people, students, or friends, together we all have these memories and we are now stronger and brighter. And looking back on them is the best way to be reminded of that. Class of 2020 is lucky to have these memories, just like the seniors before them and so will the seniors after. Each unique and each stronger because of them.