In 2008, when the class of 2021 began Kindergarten, we dreamed of being the “older kids.” All throughout elementary and middle school, I remember looking up to those kids in high school, waiting to be them. I wanted to be the person the younger kids looked up to. I wanted to be that same role model for them as they were for me. Fast forward 12 years, I am finally a senior. I finally am that “older kid” I dreamed of being for so long. Now that I am here, I can’t help but wish things were different. A part of me wishes I could go back in time and not give myself the high expectations and big dreams of being a senior in high school, because then, maybe it would’ve made this experience a bit easier. As I am sitting at my desk, at home, I constantly find myself wondering, “why me?” “Why did it have to be my senior year ripped away from me, when I’ve been dreaming of this year for so long?” I would never wish this upset upon anybody else, but it is hard not to question why it had to be the class of 2021.

This was the year we were supposed to be the leaders of the student section. We were supposed to have our huge senior nights with ALL of our friends and family in the stands, supporting us and cheering us on. We were supposed to finally get all of the senior treatments and rewards. We were finally going to have our senior homecoming. We were supposed to walk the halls of our elementary school at the end of the year. We were finally going to be the role-models. Now that we are finally in our senior year, we don’t really get any of that. It’s a hard pill to swallow that we won’t get to experience hardly any of the things that we have waited 12 years to do, but it’s something that we have learned, and are still learning to live with.

I have been with some of the same kids since I was 6 years old. We have grown up going to school together, done sports together, been on countless field trips, and now, I may not see those kids again. After high school, chances are, majority of us will be going our separate ways. Some will be going to college, some won’t, some will be going to the workforce, maybe some will be going to the military…who knows? With all the optimism I have left in me, I can only hope things will be back to somewhat normal one day, and at the very least, I hope I can see their faces at our graduation.

Back in April, I wrote a story about being positive and hopeful in the midst of everything going on in the world. I was a junior at this time, and honestly I was ignorant to think that my senior year would be nothing like the class of 2020’s senior year. Little did I know, I would hardly get a senior year. Don’t get me wrong, I truly am trying to make the most out of what I have this year. I am still playing sports, still keeping up with all of my schoolwork, still talking to my teachers on a daily basis, and still trying to see my close friends when I can. I am doing everything I can to take my own advice that I gave back in April when I wrote that article, and stay optimistic about my senior year. At this point, what we all have to do is accept what is in front of us, embrace it, and make the most of it.

I may not be getting the senior year that I dreamed about when I was 6 years old, but I sure will try to get as close as I can to it. Positivity in times of uncertainty and doubt is one of the hardest things to maintain, especially as a 17 or 18 year old. My advice to the class of 2021 is this: embrace our destiny. We are meant for greater things than simply our senior year of high school. Sure, this year was supposed to be the biggest milestone we’ve yet to reach, but there are more ahead, waiting for us to meet them. I know this year is filled with a whole lot of disappointment and upsets, but it’s up to us on how we handle them and use them for a bigger purpose. We aren’t those little kindergarteners who are looking up to the seniors anymore. We are those seniors. Just because we aren’t in school doesn’t mean we should stop leading and stop setting the example for those below us; they need all the encouragement and hope they can get, just as much as we do.

To the class of 2021, we are stronger than what we are perceived to be. We are destined for amazing and bright futures. Life is the farthest thing from expected, but it is in our hands of how we use this opportunity to overcome and conquer. To the class of 2021, embrace our destiny.