Dear seniors:
Hi! I hope you are doing well during these unique times.
I believe all of you are going through probably the most stressful time period you have ever had in your life. As a senior at Churchill High School, I completely understand that. On the last day before this semester began, I got bombarded with texts from my friends sharing their worries and concerns. That’s what drove me to write this letter to us seniors. I know we are suffering, but we are doing a great job and will all make it.
If I had a chance to meet the Mayans, I would definitely ask them if they had mistaken 2020 for 2012. Disclaimer: I am not saying 2020 is the end of the world, but there is no doubt that it is a mystical year that will draw to a close without sensation.
I can still remember how shocked I was when this semester began. My memory lingered in March, when we said goodbye to our senior friends, not having the anticipatory feeling that it was maybe the last chance to see them. And all of a sudden, we became them. We became seniors who are supposed to choose colleges and majors, or in other words, to have a blueprint for the future.
But honestly, I don’t. Not at all.
Even right now, sitting at the table, typing, I am still not sure what I really want to do in the future. I bet many of you are also at a loss. My friends, it’s really quite normal to know nothing about the future at all.
However, every single one of us has something we are good at and can offer, and we have a responsibility to ourselves to discover what it is. You may have outstanding writing like Mark Twain, but you might not notice it until you write that English essay for your AP Language and Composition class; you may be a great inventor or even extraordinary enough to deserve a Nobel Prize, but you might know it until you completed that science project which took so much time and you were just about to give up on. Maybe you are a future mayor or senator, but you might not discover your talent until you join your class debate or U.S. Government and Politics class.
If you are one of the people, like me, who haven’t discovered their passion and talent, all we need to do and should do is not to let any opportunity sneak away easily. Our future is never decided. Even for those people who had a career dream that was deeply rooted in their hearts when they were very young, it’s so amazing for you to stick with it. But if you at some point in your life come to find out your true fervor, don’t let yourself be stuck with a subject that you are not passionate about. We don’t have permanent shapes, and it’s never too late for us to start over.
Then our worries shift to the application process. Can you imagine having a checklist with 60 plus things to do in two months? With SAT exams to take, college personal and supplementary essays to write and recommendation letters to confirm, we have so much extra work to do for colleges. In addition, many of us also have a tough schedule in school.
If you haven’t taken standardized tests, don’t feel stressed. It’s understandable that you physically can’t make it and it’s not your liability. Last week, I received a phone call from my friend, crying and screaming about how she has too much work to do and complaining about how stressful it is.
Here is a thought I believe worth sharing: What makes us feel depressed is dependent on our mood, not the task itself. Work can never collapse a person; it’s the feeling that “I can’t do it” or “I can’t stand it anymore” that makes us feel frustrated and helpless.
But yeah, we are human beings. It’s the feeling and mood we have that separates us from other mammals. So if you feel depressed, feel free to share it with someone and cry loudly, but always remember that you are stronger than you think, and don’t let the tears blur your vision. The sun shines so brightly.
Undeniably, things are tough right now, both in the world and in our personal lives, but we are doing a great job. Please believe in this firmly: we have the ability to make our senior year the best it can be, all circumstances considered. We will face this challenge, and we will overcome it.
Best Regards,
A Senior Fighter
Article by Emily Long of Churchill High School
Edited by Features Editor Matthew Minton
Graphic by Angelina Guhl of Richard Montgomery High School