Covid-19 has affected everyone far and wide, all in very different ways. As a high school senior I will be missing my graduation in June, something I have spent the last twelve years looking forward to. I know that it’s a ridiculous notion, but there is a part of me that feels like it’s unfair that we’re the grade who is forced to miss so much while we have watched all the grades before us celebrate and graduate. I don’t really miss high school, and I’m not that sad about missing the end of the school year. I am upset about missing graduation. I feel like I’m missing an important closure moment where I can finally finish this chapter of my life and move on, now everything is much more blurred and confused. I am grateful that I had the years that I did have and the friends I have are amazing and whether we’re in quarantine or not we’ll still be friends. Being in quarantine has also led to me thinking a lot about my future and it makes me so excited for what’s to come. I can’t wait to go to college and start my life.

“Eyo the Rabbit” is a detailed still life drawing of objects that hold sentimental value to me. The
stuffed rabbit, who I named “Eyo”, is the most prominent object. I could not sleep without it or
go anywhere without it. Another object is the disc that contains The Beatles album “Revolver.”
My father gave me that disc, and I listened to it for hours on my boom box when I was little. The
last object is a teacup that was part of a china set. That china set is some of the only remaining
memorabilia I have of my family’s old house in Kansas City, Missouri. I moved away from there
when I was ten.

“Limelight” is an oil on canvas painting which was completed October thirtieth. The piece is on
a twelve by eighteen-inch canvas. The canvas was recycled, so there is pre-existing paint
underneath my painting. “Limelight” is the name of the work because of the blue light that
highlights the figure. The energy in this painting is meant to be tired and rundown. This was
more of an experimental piece, as I had never painted smoke before.

This assignment was one of my favorites from this school year. It was one of our summer
assignments and even though it was a challenging one, I really enjoyed getting to create it.
Having objects that have a big impact in my life. Working with black and white charcoal pencil
was very enjoyable for me and I loved getting to work with the color and textured paper. I have
to say this project was very hard for me to execute but I am happy I really pushed my limits and
ended up being happy with the result.

For this piece I made a 8 by 11 collage. This year was supposed to be the best one yet and
it was taken away from us in what felt like a second. I cut out pieces in magazines that relate to
things that were going to happen that we did not get to experience and some everyday things that
I just miss. For instance, I miss being in a house full of all my friends. I also have a couple slow
dancing at the top. That image reminded me of prom which I was also really looking forward to.
There is also a plane in the bottom left corner. I put that there because I had two major senior
year trips of mine cancelled and most likely will not be rescheduled. However, there is much
worse happening and I am thankful I live the life I do and have had overall amazing experiences
to look back on.

There are a ton of mixed feelings being a senior right now. As a class, we are missing out on so many milestones that we have been looking forward to since freshman year or even earlier. We are not able to do a senior project, and for me, this was a really important experience to see if I want to go into a teaching major. Other things such as water gun assassin and senior rafting trips were fun activities that we have looked forward to for a very long time, and senior awards night and graduation were ceremonies we have worked hard to get to since our freshman year. We also never got to say our goodbyes to our teachers which is a huge bummer as they have been with us for four years. On a positive note, we are getting time with our families before we head out to our next step, which for me is college. I am thankful for this time that I would have never gotten, especially with one of my brothers who is in college. We would have never had this time together and now we do. I am thankful that I have a home and food on my table, as many families are struggling through this tough time.

The theme for the project was “phenomenon” and I decided to look up ones that occur in nature. The reflective desert came up and I thought it would be a fun challenge to see how much I could create a mirror effect and see how similar I could get the ground to like what was on or above it. I did this piece on 12×16″ canvas with acrylic paint. This was a very enjoyable and difficult painting to paint by trying to keep the clouds look the same in the reflection, having to paint them backward and upside down on the ground. I used different texture with the clouds in the sky and figure and smoothed them on in the reflection. I also tried to add a pop of color with the red sweatshirt.

For this project we were required to create a piece showing how these past few months have made us feel as seniors. During this uncertain time, there is a lot of confusion, stress and a lot of time spent inside. To visualize this I painted a girl on her couch sitting with her dog on a small canvas using acrylic paint. The girl is thinking of all of the things she’s missing out on like graduation, prom and simply talking to friends. Many empty days can lead to so much time to think, sometimes on things that can be done to improve your self but also to think about what could’ve been. Especially now with missing out on the last few months with your friends your brain can go to a lot of negative places. Her dog sitting next to her is not sharing the same thoughts because he is just happy to always have her home. This time has made me more thankful for what I have been able to experience and the people I surround myself with. Although I’m upset about everything we will not be able to participate in, I’m sure that when this is all over I won’t take anything for granted whether its a concert with hundreds of people, hanging out with friends or just a hug after not seeing someone for a while.

1) What is it like being a senior right now?
Being a senior right now is kind of surreal. It’s obviously a little disappointing that we are missing all of these rites of passage as we transition from high school to college, but I think that missing as much school as we did makes it worth it. I think everyone anticipates some grand ending to their high school careers to really solidify in their minds that high school is over, but for my grade, our high school experience kind of just petered out. I guess the odd part of all of this is that despite high school being almost over for all of us, it doesn’t feel that way. Again, part of me is a little disappointed, but I’m not crushed.
2) What are you thankful for/hopeful about?
I’m grateful that my family has good health insurance, especially now. I’m also glad that quarantining has allowed me to explore my interests more deeply and catch up on sleep. I’ve found that I immensely enjoy not having a schedule. I hope that I come out of this more knowledgeable about the things that I find interesting. I hope that I’ll be able to see my friends on a semi regular basis over the summer but I doubt that that will happen. I also hope that the global community will be brought together after collectively going through this experience.

I won’t sugarcoat anything… Being a senior right now is absolutely devastating. There is an overwhelming feeling of sadness not just for myself but for everyone whose lives have changed so dramatically since the start of this pandemic. I’m upset that I didn’t get to experience a fun senior year with all of my friends before we got off to seperate colleges. It feels like all the best parts have been ripped away from me. It isn’t even about all of the memories that we are missing out on, but also the feeling of incompletion. It is difficult to think that soon we will be entering this new chapter of our lives without having ever properly closed the page on highschool. However, I also sometimes catch myself feeling guilty and selfish for feeling this way, because I know that there are so many people who are in much worse conditions than me.
During this time, we are stuck and stagnant. We waste the days away by sleeping and distracting ourselves with hours of mind numbing TV. People seek temporary relief to their situations, and some will partake in small acts of rebellion to ease themselves of the isolation that they feel. My family, while driving me slightly crazy, is also a massive support though all of this, and I feel sorry for those who feel alone during this time. I can see how much this is impacting my parents. They feel awful for me that I don’t get to celebrate the end of my highschool career. I think that milestones, like graduation, are sometimes even more important to our parents, because it is the time where they accept the change that their children will face and the new journey that lies ahead of them.
I am however, hopeful in the knowledge that this struggle is temporary. It is hard to see right now, but I know I will look back at this moment in my life and be able to gather inspiration from it. I’m just looking forward to the day where I can give all my friends a hug and we can try to make up the time that we have lost together.