Navigating senior year during a pandemic: ‘It became more of a punishment than a vacation.’
- Sydney McDonald
- Mar 14, 2021
- 4 min read
What started out as an “extended Spring Break” last year for many high school students quickly became an uprooting of everything normal in their lives.
Dothan High School seniors Maddie Hall and Kate Smith abruptly ended their junior year by sitting at home awaiting the next word from school officials on what was happening with COVID-19. Neither Hall nor Smith had any inclination that this would be their “new normal” for the next year.
“When we first got out for two weeks I was very excited,” Hall said. “Never in a million years could I have imagined it would last this long. I, my mom, and my sister made a TikTok at the end of March where we made COVID predictions, and I predicted that we would be back in school by May. It’s weird to look back on that video and realize I had no idea what was going to happen.” Smith said the lack of productivity in the beginning of the pandemic resulted in a sharp decline in her mental health.
“When it first started, I tried to complete school work to stay mentally sharp, but as time went on I became less motivated to do so,” Smith said. “My self-esteem dropped quite a bit, I wasn’t in the best mindset. It became more of a punishment than a vacation once I learned it wouldn’t be a prolonged spring break, but a very long summer of staying at home and missing track season.”
When the girls started their senior year in the fall of 2020 neither knew what to expect, but both soon realized they would be missing out on a lot of senior year milestones they were looking forward to experience. “We weren’t allowed to have any pep rallies, we didn’t have homecoming and we don’t get to meet with our clubs during school,” Smith said. “Being a senior and competing for the spirit stick at pep a rally was supposed to be really fun and we missed that. We are supposed to have a prom, but I don’t know how much fun it will be with all the restrictions.”
As a varsity cheerleader, Hall said the restrictions on travelling and crowd numbers put a damper on her senior year experience. “I was really looking forward to cheer camp this year, but we didn’t get to go,” Hall said. “Our stadium and gym has always been packed with fans on game days, but of course with COVID that was not the case this year. I feel like I really took for granted a lot of things and I’ve had to learn how to adapt to the new normal of constant cancellation.” Most high school seniors spend their senior year finalizing post-graduation plans. Many 2020 graduates had to rethink college plans to conform to new restrictions around on-campus living and virtual learning. Luckily, most campuses are planning to return to full in-person classes for the fall 2021 semester, which has been a relief for Hall and Smith.
Hall said she was still able to attend tours of colleges she was interested in, which is where she fell in love with the University of South Alabama and made the decision to attend in the fall. Smith has accepted an academic scholarship from Huntingdon College and will be running cross country and track as well. Some students have had issues with taking college entrance exams over the last year because of COVID but Smith said Huntingdon’s application didn’t focus on standardized testing. “Huntingdon focuses more on GPA than ACT scores, so I didn’t have any issues,” Smith said. “I do think I would have had more offers athletically had I competed during my junior season because I was conditioned and running very well before we had to stop.” Both girls have experienced the fears and apprehensions that have come with the pandemic while attending in person classes this year.
“Since we don’t have break and lunch like normal anymore, I don’t get to see a lot of my friends at all throughout the day,” Hall said. “Also, a lot of the classrooms are nearly empty because of people doing virtual school and people getting quarantined left and right. It’s gotten to the point when the nurse walks in everyone gets scared because they know she is about to send someone home to quarantine.” Smith and Hall both said even though COVID procedures can be exhausting mentally and physically, they understand why they are in place. Smith recently tested positive for COVID and has been quarantining at home. Hall battled COVID at the start of 2021 and said she didn’t get out of bed for six days.
“Many students have had issues being late to class this year because the hallways are one-way right now,” Smith said. “Some of the teachers haven’t cracked down on it, because everyone is navigating this weird time together and all we can do is try our best to prevent the spread and stay safe.” Dothan High School is currently planning to hold a graduation ceremony, most likely with restrictions on the number of attendees allowed per graduate.
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