Walking out of my last period class on March 13 without hesitation, glad to leave the school I had been cooped up in for a tiresome 8 hours. You know the drill, as soon as you make it out to the senior lot with your best friends, you all wave goodbye and say see ya soon. Well what I didn’t know in that very Friday moment, was that that would be my last time leaving that senior parking lot; my last time driving through the stubborn senior traffic. Too many cars forced to be parked in one small lot of over 200 students, we were never too fond of any of it. But when I look back, on that Friday, I can’t help but think I should have cherished that scene a little more. Taken in every last bit of the chaos that filled the senior lot class of 2020, for that would be the last time I would be exposed to that. Those annoying stop signs scattered throughout the senior lot that no 18 year old new driver enjoyed stopping at; the anticipation of if you will beat the busses or not. The rush you got standing in front of the doorway of your last period class because you just had to beat the busses and get on with the rest of your busy day. You see, we were always in a rush for something, moving onto the next activity in our day like it was a given. But notice, we never stopped to think wow aren’t I lucky to be at school with my friends. Aren’t I lucky to pass people in the streets and give a gentle smile to those I don’t know. I guess it's safe to say we all took it for granted, our daily life and the opportunities we had.
It is some change we’ve undergone as a society. An average day used to be waking up at the crack of dawn, early enough in the day to not be greeted by the radiance of the sun, but not too early. The feeling of speed walking into the school at 7:19 a.m. in suspense of whether I will be counted as late or not by my first period teacher. Passing the security guards on the way to my class that I would greet with a crooked, morning smile. Not even fully awake enough to know what I had packed for lunch that morning. Although they aren’t the most exciting thoughts, they are memories that were my past, our past.
The Corona Virus is a heedless virus that had the potential to shut down the heart of New York City’s Broadway center, better yet New Jersey beaches. More privileges in life that we as society are so used to being exposed to. Now with everything suddenly being taken away, the empty, hollow loss surrounds our bodies with fear of the unknown that fills our future. The unpromised future that stands so blindly in front of us, we don’t know what is yet to come.
But, it is not too late to start cherishing the things that remain. Our families, our friends, our social media that connects us from a distance. We can’t allow the virus to take away our spirits and the faith of the future. Like I said, it is all unknown, but this too shall pass. Everything comes to an end, and the Corona virus too, will. It is the energy you sustain that determines what the virus really took. Yes, our schools, gyms, jobs, trails, and daily routines have been taken, but you are still here. For those of us that the virus has not affected, we are lucky. That in itself should be a reason to be thankful and cherish these quarantine days that clearly don’t live up to our prior expectations of life, but they are what it has come to for the time being. Just remember to stay positive and optimistic about the situation we are all undergoing at this time.
Yes, it is an entirely negative situation, but take the time to try and turn the negative situation and put it towards something positive.
