At the end of a 13-year adventure of hard work and determination, the day for 2021 seniors has finally arrived. Graduation. The class of 2020 missed out on a typical graduation and many end-of-the-year activities, but the class of 2021 has missed almost everything. No question: high school seniors this year had it particularly rough. There is definitely no way to sugarcoat this peculiar year for them especially.  

Enochs made a great effort trying to give seniors at least a little normality but then again nothing really seems to feel normal in a global pandemic. However, many seniors managed to try and be optimistic and finish this dreaded year strong.

So how did seniors manage to make the best out of this year? 

If anyone helped seniors get through this year it had to be family, friends, and fellow classmates. Mental health is always an immense struggle when you’re locked up in your house with a screen in front of you all day and every day. And of course, school doesn’t get easier when the senioritis kicks in. 

“Doing school at home was of course a weird experience. So many distractions. But at least I had my family. My mom would always try to motivate me and encourage me to keep going.” a senior stated. “My friends and I would always try to be there for each other because we knew this year would be rough.”  

What really hurt many seniors was not playing their favorite sport for their last year of high school. But luckily sports were able to start again which put a smile on many faces including staff.

“I missed sports so much. I would’ve been super disappointed if I couldn’t play one last game before I graduated” explains an Enochs senior.

Later in April as students were given the opportunity to return to school was something that helped many whether it was seeing a familiar face or simply being able to get out of the house.

A senior at Enochs who chose to remain anonymous stated, “I would try to attend school every day and try to appreciate it because at the beginning of the year I didn’t have it, I was bored out of my mind,” they said, “I tried to treat every day like it was the best day.” 

As prom season approached this year many seniors decided to have a mini prom of their own with their friend group. Pictures of glittery dresses and bow ties and ties all over Instagram. This is improvisation at its finest. 

“I had been looking forward to prom for years and I didn’t want to let COVID take that away from my friends and I.” an Enochs senior exclaimed. 

This year was nothing but unfair to the class of 2021. Seniors deserved so much better because they have worked so hard to get here. As the class of 2021 walks across the stage, they should be extremely proud of themselves because this anything but normal year was definitely not easy.