Senior year, truly an unforgettable year…

Senior year: the unforgettable year every student dreams of. Our senior year… unforgettable for sure. Everyone grows up hearing “cherish these years,” “enjoy your senior year” and “high school will go by in the blink of an eye.”
Indeed, all it took was a blink of an eye for our whole senior year to be taken. Just like that, everything we have waited 13 years for: gone. From the craziness of the student section under the Friday Night Lights, dancing under the stars at prom and Homecoming and having my entire family cheering me on from the stands at sporting events, we have all lost out on so much.
It has taken time for me to come to terms with the fact that our senior year was taken from us. But once I came to terms with it, I was faced with a decision: either let that determine the rest of my year, or make the most out of the worst situation. I chose the latter.
I was determined to not let a virus decide my future and how I was going to live out my senior year. I have always been the one to preach positivity and have a smile on my face, however, COVID took that from me for a while. I found myself in a very low place in life for a variety of reasons, but most of it stemmed from the pandemic. For months, I couldn’t find hope or the normal positivity that I possessed on a daily basis. I just settled for the fact that senior year was gone in the blink of an eye like everyone always had said.
That is, until I finally realized that wasn’t what they meant when they said it’ll be gone in the blink of an eye; they meant time would go by so fast because you are living the best years of your life and making memories. Time flies when you are having fun.
Once I realized I had the wrong mentality about this virus, I started to come out of the low place I had found myself in. I made it my goal to have the best year possible. I would get up on the days we had school and make it my goal to make at least one memory and make this unusual year the best I possibly could.
I started seeing the good in each day and started putting a smile on my face, even though no one could see it because of the mask. But the important thing was, I could feel that smile, and I could feel that when I was positive, it had a positive impact on the people around me.
Throughout the year, students and staff worked to think outside the box and find ways to celebrate our senior year, working to host one student section, start a new tradition with Senior Sunrise and find ways to continue old traditions like Senior Walk. While things may look drastically different than they did in years past, I am still grateful to have had the chance to make memories with the people I’ve grown up with, even from six feet away. Even with adding an extra four feet to make an in-person graduation possible, I can feel the love the class of 2021 has for each other and LCHS, even from 10 feet apart.
LCHS has given me so much, and I am forever grateful for this ONE family. Amidst this crazy year, we were still able to enjoy some normalcy as seniors. Staff at LCHS gave us more than I thought we would ever have this year. Together, we made the most of it and were still able to make memories during our last year in high school. I would like to especially thank Carrie Hicks and Lee Downey for always supporting crazy ideas, making things happen and believing in me even when I didn’t believe in myself.
If there is anything this year has taught me, it is that we are stronger than I ever imagined, and we can overcome any challenge. Lion Pride is real, and we can overcome any obstacle if we come together. This year has also taught me that I am strong and will never give up. In the end, I am thankful for the pandemic for developing me into who I am today and for teaching me lessons that I will carry with me through college and beyond.
As a woman planning to go into a male-dominated field, I know that I will have hardships to overcome in the agricultural world, but because of everything I have overcome this year, I know that this obstacle will be nothing.
As long as I hold onto my positive mentality and know that I can overcome anything, I will be unstoppable in my future. I am forever thankful for all the friends and opportunities LCHS has given me, and am grateful that I was able to grow through what I went through.