My name is Lia, a member of the class of 2022. When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, I was halfway through my sophomore year, which concluded as anticlimactically as the start of my junior year.  After a lackluster transition from normal in-person school to online school in the spring of 2020, prompting an uproar from parents, my school district reimagined the 2020-2021 school year.

After a few weeks in remote learning, a hybrid schedule was introduced to allow students, who are divided into two cohorts, to attend classes in person for two half-days per week. The remainder of the week is spent logging into Zoom classes at home and attempting to retain as much information as possible.

With the implementation of this hybrid model on October 5, I was able to return to the high school building for the first time since school shut down on March 12.  After a surreal six months, I was reintroduced to teachers and peers who had become strangers, but/and the social atmosphere in the building was far more eerie than joyous. The school spirit and collective stress that once united everyone drowned in a sea of robotic teenagers lacking motivation and a sense of hope.

The daily school grind is notoriously stressful and boring.  However, the social events in high school make all the studying worth it. I once counted down the days until the Friday night football games in the fall. I relied on the rush of the marching band playing and the crowd cheering whenever we scored a touchdown to invigorate my mundane routine.

Weekends used to be the time to hang out with friends and attend parties, making memories that stick with and energize you. Spring break allowed for an escape to exotic destinations or lavish lunches at local restaurants.  Having something to look forward to made it much easier to push through stressful nights spent cramming for exams.

But with Covid, half of this equation has been completely erased.  Now the daily school grind remains, but there’s no longer an outlet to relieve the stress it brings.

Each week has become identical, and I feel like I’m living my life on repeat.  Every Monday morning          I make a list of the tasks I need to complete, then slowly check them off as the week progresses. The weekend comes and goes, then I find myself sitting back down in front of my computer with a new list  of responsibilities that I have no desire to do. This mutual feeling among my peers prompts the following question: When are we going to have something to look forward to again?

The school system’s primary focus is returning to the normal schedule as soon as possible, which is an obvious priority. But, no one seems to be making an effort to revive the lost culture of high school. The Class of 2021 has already forfeited their junior prom, powderpuff season, and fall formal. When does it end? When will these milestones be rescheduled, or are they all going to be swept under the rug in an attempt to move forward?

Everyone is trying to simply survive the pandemic, but we should be striving to thrive.

Attempting to set up support groups and counseling sessions is a step in the right direction, but more than anything, all we students want is for effort to be put into saving the milestones we’ve been looking forward to for years. Prom, powderpuff, and graduation should be reimagined, not canceled.  For the sake of the students who are struggling the most, I think it’s time to optimize our creativity and start prioritizing not just academics, but every aspect of student life.

A junior in high school, Lia’s passion is dance - in the studio and in competition.  Her desire to experience other cultures and to personally give back to people and our planet are realized in her internship with Stone & Compass, a non-profit dedicated to sustainable projects around the world. Lia is looking forward to continuing her love of  travel and becoming a global citizen through study abroad programs and opportunities in college.