To the Class of 2020… we all know the unreal feeling of going into our senior year with bright eyes and open minds to what the year is going to hold for us. That insane feeling of “This is it. My last year. This. Right now, right here. This is what I have been working towards.”   

Most of us know that feeling of the first acceptance letter from a college that we might not even want to truly go to, but we feel on top of the world, regardless. We are good enough. All of those long nights and never–ending tests we’ve taken to even to get to this point have paid off. There is something waiting for us after Cartersville. There is more. 

As of right now, and as far as we know, March 13th could have been our last days walking through the school that has been a home to us the past four years now.  So now, my question is- “Are we ready to be done? Did we leave our mark on CHS, as CHS has left its mark on us?” 

My first memory of high school was walking into Coach Putnam’s video class and asking myself- “What in the world have I gotten myself into?” That’s hands-down my favorite class I never,  intentionally, meant to have. There are so many memories from that one class that I will treasure for as long as I can remember.  

To all of the teachers who have had the most absolute pleasure of having my opinionated self in class… Thank You. All of you may not realize it, but each and every one of you shaped me as a person and helped me grow into someone I have learned to be proud of.  I genuinely believe that God put all of you in the most perfect time and stage of my life, and I am forever grateful to you all. 

Mrs. Rentz, Mrs. Walker, Coach Tucker, Coach Cagle, and Mrs. Candela. These are the 5 teachers who stand out the most to me right now. Each one of you could make a hard day at school not so bad after just a conversation. All of you are people I learned I could lean on and go to with no fear of judgment. Thank you all for being my family at Cartersville and for pushing me to be a better version of myself. 

To the class of 2020, this is crazy, and it sucks. I do not condone the use of that word, but there honestly is no other way to put this situation we are in into words. We have all put in the work to get to where we are… just to maybe not even get the rest of our senior year. Our year of milestones — put on hold indefinitely.

This all is weighing on my heart so much. The world is chaotic, which does not make any of this any easier. I know I do not speak for everyone, but I feel cheated. Cheated of my last time being a kid, cheated of my senior prom, and to an extent, cheated of my graduation.

No one can control this, and that is genuinely what hurts more than anything. There is nothing that any of us can do, aside from “self–quarantining” for two weeks and hoping for the best.

I never thought I would ever be begging to have a normal school week again. To be able to actually sit through my classes and be surrounded by the people I grew up with. My heart is genuinely breaking, and I would do anything to have everything go back to normal.  

I tell myself and others to try to see the light at the end of the tunnel and stay healthy. I wish I could go back two weeks ago and tell us all, “Hug your parents, your friends, your teachers because there is no guarantee.”

Everyday life as I knew it has vanished.  I pray it returns.