by Jackson Hongtong ‘21

Although I have had years and years to plan and devise something great to write for my own senior column, I still don’t even know how to begin. I could share one story and talk about how that shaped my view on something and made me change as a person. I could talk about the many different experiences I have had and how they all have impacted me, giving insight to everyone reading. You’d think that I’d be able to come up with something elaborate and intriguing for my last one, right? Well I thought so too, but that will be my point: no one really knows what will happen, whether it is a surprise test on a Tuesday or a global pandemic that keeps you out of school for a whole year, things happen in our lives that we have no control over. The only thing we do have control over is what we do during that time and how to make the best of it.

In the beginning of adolescence, I believed things were easy. In middle school, I made many friends that I still hang out with and transitioning to high school was never something I was necessarily afraid of. I had my doubts obviously with so many new people, but I knew that was part of the process. Homecoming, Friday night football games, and parties with friends came quickly, giving me some of the best memories to date. The only negative I really ever had was having to sit in the back of the student section, having to wait every year to move up, but I knew my time would come to be at the front for the best view. Well, at least I thought so. 

Fast forward to March of 2020. School closes down for two weeks, which eventually turned into another two weeks, and then suddenly I realized I was finished with my junior year. During this time, not only was I often finding myself alone, but also thinking about all the old memories I used to have during the school year. Although I used to rather stay home over going to school, I began to miss the normality of being at school and interacting with everyone, whether they were a friend, teacher, or even someone I had never talked to before. 

As I reflect on the senior year that wasn’t, I wish I could have had the chance to make more of those memories spent in class laughing with my friends and talking about our plans for after the football game. However, being in quarantine also gave me some of the best times with both my family and friends that would have never happened otherwise. And honestly, that’s the message of this whole thing really. There are times and situations that are totally out of your control, but you can still do the things that you can do and have fun. The memories of this past year sure aren’t the ones that I expected to have for my senior year, but I still have made some good ones. Do not take for granted the time you have now because sooner or later you’ll have no more.