Graduation: My Dedication to the Class of 2020
Heavy clouds loom over the rays of sunshine meant to propel us toward our bright futures. A glorious, vivid moment in our lives now rests in the hands of a cursed, invisible enemy. The aura surrounding graduation emanates anything but brilliance: this year’s commencement projects gloom and austerity. Mere disappointment saturates us as we take steps closer toward the end, where an unfortunate reward awaits. No senior prom, no senior week, no hugging our best friends, no personal farewell to our favorite teachers. My senior t-shirt even reads, ‘2020: the ones who got quarantined.’ No scribbly signatures in our yearbooks concluding with “HAGS,” because we know COVID-19 has already plagued our summer plans. Even our freshman year of college is up in the air, potentially compromised by this contagion. Entrapped in our homes and muzzled by surgical face masks, it just seems like everything has gone down the drain. There’s too much to sulk about.
Most of you, especially my peers and classmates, feel exactly like this. Senior year of high school is, indeed, supposed to be one of the most fun and memorable years of a teenager’s life. We’ve worked tirelessly like robots, mechanized by a system that esteems numbers over humanity, exam scores over mental health, and what may be perceived as success over personal character. The culmination of our sacrifices, the proliferation of our achievements, and the realization of our journeys ahead ignited sole sparks of joy. Euphoric sentiments of reward are suffocated, with six feet distancing us from these feelings of warmth. When all we wanted was to finally embrace each other and surrender our battle over deemed success, another war was imminent. Coming to our senses after years of intense competition marked the beginnings of viral division.
Losses inflicted by destructive conflict never impact everyone equally. But in times of agony, I have learned, it is important to frame yourself in the position of others. Understanding broadens your horizons, providing empathy instills comfort and hope. In this time of distress for many of you, although I am not heartbroken, I do feel your pain. I have experienced despair, self defeat, and am still torn by scars of regret. It’s been easier for me than for others only because my community is dispersed. I’ve moved schools several times, having attended six schools from the beginning of my academic experience. All with diverse cultures and groups of people, I was compelled to expand my social circle beyond school. Sports, academic activities, and family dinners enabled me to befriend people of all ages and demographics. Although I consider myself independent, self motivated, and routine, time with friends is precious to me. In fact, isolation is never the answer: interconnectivity is key to human nature and happiness. But also necessary to us individuals is adaptability: making the best out of any given situation gives us a platform to thrive on personal growth. And when we think about what this means, graduation is the only word that comes to mind: overcoming and learning from adversity IS graduation.
