Senior Perspective on COVID

Gillian Tarry, Viewpoints Editor

During the pandemic, many extracurriculars became obsolete, such as sports, clubs, and clubs. As time goes on, we have found ways to manage some of our extracurriculars. However, not all have been easy. It is all about the planning of events. Ms. Pepe, the class advisor for the senior class has spoken about how planning big events occurs. She says, “So planning for large events has definitely been stressful. The biggest challenge has honestly been the waiting game. We have to wait to hear from the CDC and state government in order to see if the capacity guidelines change, or whether or not indoor events can occur, and what the rules are there to follow in order to have a successful event.” 

Making arrangements for these extracurriculars takes a long time. Many clubs or activities cannot even meet in person due to COVID-19. Allison McGinn, a senior, said,  “It’s just really made organizing events for certain clubs and other extracurriculars extremely difficult, especially since there are cohorts.” 

This is a common challenge many clubs have had to face. Some clubs, however, have been fortunate enough to have their meetings. 

For some students, sports have been a major part of their lives and will be a major part of their future careers. Whether it is club-related or school-related, many teams were postponed or even cancelled for further notice. Even with those sports that do get to play, there are multiple amounts of restrictions such as sanitizing after each water break, wearing masks and 6 feet apart social distancing. These restrictions do allow us to stay safe. However, they take away a small part of sports. 

This is similar to the differences in clubs lately. Lauren Daniels had created her own club in 2020. Her idea was to create a club to help prepare eighth grade girls for high school. She did this through pairing the middle school girls with high school girls allowing them to learn new faces and make them feel comfortable in the hallways. Before the pandemic began, they had been fortunate enough to meet one time. However, after the pandemic, her clubs became fully virtual. Unfortunately, hers was not the only club impacted by these unfortunate occurrences.  

The drama club also performed Clue. This event was entirely virtual through a video performance. This was a big difference from their past shows and became a new way of looking at things. Fortunately, for their second semester performance, they will be on stage. There will be restrictions, however. They will be required to wear masks, live streamed audience, and only 30 performers allowed on stage at a time. Through all of these unfortunate events, our senior students, athletes, and performers have had to adapt to all of these changes. 

Extracurriculars may not seem like a big deal when it comes to a stressful pandemic. These extracurriculars, however, have had many effects on many people’s lives and choices. This pandemic has proven to be very prolonged. As a result of this pandemic, we have become stronger and have learned to overcome challenges that would never have been seen in the future.