Posted on 04/04/2020 1:32:43 AM PDT by L.A.Justice
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - The disruption caused by COVID-19 has been incredibly inconvenient for everyone. But for some young adults, the timing of this lockdown has been heartbreaking.
The second semester of senior year is usually full of milestones: senior prom, senior trips, and graduation, just to name a few. But high school seniors across the state and country are missing some of these once-in-a-lifetime memories in an effort to stop the spread of Coronavirus.
Now, as the cancellations have started, local seniors are struggling to accept that for their class, these rites of passage may never happen.
“It’s devastating actually, because I really wanted to go to prom, and just spend time with my friends and experience my senior year,” Laney High School Senior Rachel Muir told WECT.
Like many of her classmates, Muir had already bought a dress, and had been looking forward to senior prom all year. But for the Class of 2020, the corsage, the limo, and the night dancing with friends looks like it won’t be a Cinderella story after all.
“It’s a hard thing to just grasp it being ripped away from us like that,” Laney Senior Nate Hedrick said.
It’s not just the memories from senior prom they will miss. It’s the looming possibility that other big events they’ve worked so hard for may now be out of the question as well.
“Once everything started getting cancelled and postponed and everything, I couldn’t handle it. It was just so much at one time,” Laney Senior Kamryn Ballard said of the tremendous disappointment.
“This is stuff we grow up looking forward to, since we are in elementary school,” Muir added. “This is what we’ve been working towards. This is a moment we will never get to live again.”
Seniors are grappling with the fact that one priceless experience after another may be missing from their book of life.
“Seniors last year and probably seniors to come, they will get their prom, they’ll get their graduation, they’ll get their senior walks around campus,” Hedrick said. “But with [Coronavirus] going around, none of us are going to get that, and we’re just going to have to live with that.”
While graduation hasn’t been canceled yet, these seniors fear it’s imminent. They say getting your diploma in the mail just isn’t the same.
“I really want to walk the stage, and see my family happy and proud,” Senior Alex Rivers shared.
While the disappointment is palpable, the uniquely painful experience of knowing their cap and gown may never get worn in public is making these students wise beyond their years.
"This is a thing we are all going to get through. Just keep moving forward and try your hardest,” Hedrick said.
New Hanover County Schools has yet to announce any decisions about graduation, and at this point, classes are scheduled to resume in May. But school officials have cancelled prom district-wide.
“New Hanover County Schools has informed high school principals to notify families that proms have been cancelled,” NHCS Spokesperson Ann Gibson said. “At this time, all high schools have canceled their proms and families have been notified. NHCS knows this is a difficult decision for everyone, so it was decided that families would be notified by high school staff rather than include the cancellations as part of a district-wide press release.”
Officials tell WECT they used the word “cancelled” because under the circumstances, it is possible they will not be able to reschedule prom, and they didn’t want to give people false hope.
“The district will evaluate end-of-year activities when COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and students return to school,” Gibson said.
I feel bad for the high school seniors this year...
I have three graduating this year. My eldest is completing his Associate’s and then heading away for his Bachelor’s, my middle child is graduating high school, and my youngest is moving up from Jr. High.
Trips, dances, and graduation ceremonies all cancelled.
Top that off with two trips to the hospital so far to shake this cough, fever, and lung pain (I’m in quarantine now finally awaiting my COVID 19 test results), and chewing up my sick and vacation time missing weeks of work, it has been a lousy year.
The only bright spot was the Dems getting crushed during the impeachment sham.
I HATE China.
Maybe it would make them feel better to know 30 to 200 times
their graduating class size may be dead by the end of the
summer.
If they and their family members are alive, perhaps they can
find something to be happy about after all.
Me too. This is driving the kids nuts. My seven year old grandson is cooped up with Parents and baby brother, and he is not loving it. It’s got to be three times as bad for the teens.
Hang in there kids! We love you!
“The only bright spot was the Dems getting crushed during the impeachment sham.”
It is great how useless they have shown themselves to be. (See tagline!)
As the man said: China is Assh*le.
Well, this whole coronavirus thing is a once-in-a-lifetime memory. They can enjoy all those activities next year, because everyone will have to repeat this uncompleted school year.
Want to know what will break this Left-wing destruction of our nation’s economy by locking down the country? Get these disappointed Seniors from every HighSchool in America out in the streets on May Day demanding that they be allowed a graduation.
After all, we didn’t cancel senior year activities during WW 1 and WW 2, so why now, when far fewer people have died of the coronovirus than have died of the flu? How ridiculous that this media fiasco has cost us trillions of dollars. Sweden was not as stupid.
Nope. Just the opposite. We've been lied to about the flu numbers for years.
The high school seniors can have their proms and graduation ceremonies in the summertime, if this pandemic has passed by then.
Maybe this year they’ll even learn that life has setbacks and disappointments, but everything can still work out in the end.
Lol, and of course you have the proof.....right?
That’s what I’m telling my daughter as she is freaking out that her son (honors student) won’t be recognized at graduation. I feel they will have a ceremony after this passes.
All he cares about is the job awaiting him....which is in one of the few "necessary" groups and military related. He just lucked out....hope it works out for him. Sadly...it won't work out for many who expected to slide into the workforce.
But we'll spring back...The economy is "US" and failure is not an option.
I have three graduating this year. My eldest is completing his Associate’s and then heading away for his Bachelor’s, my middle child is graduating high school, and my youngest is moving up from Jr. High.
Trips, dances, and graduation ceremonies all cancelled.
Top that off with two trips to the hospital so far to shake this cough, fever, and lung pain (I’m in quarantine now finally awaiting my COVID 19 test results), and chewing up my sick and vacation time missing weeks of work, it has been a lousy year.
The only bright spot was the Dems getting crushed during the impeachment sham.
I HATE China.
***********************************
My daughter’s wedding and bridal shower-—from scheduled to up in the air after significant expense.
But that is not why I despise China, I despise China because it’s government is demonic.
I despise China because its government is demonic, corrected the spelling of its.
I believe that 100%. The flu numbers are guesstimates. It didn’t matter enough to the CDC to arrange for actual data on the flu to be obtained.
No one can have proof because the data hasn’t been collected. Looking at the CDC sight you can download the actual deaths that are documented from flu. Then there are the estimate numbers, many times greater. The fine print says those numbers are based on a mathematical model.
Schools in Kansas have been closed for several weeks already.
How are you doing?
Getting better, I hope.
The narrative cannot be imbedded in their heads because they are not in class, Yes kids its china’s fault! If you were in class your propagandists would be telling you day after day at nausium it is Trumps fault
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