by Ryan Duvall ‘21

In a normal year, most senior columns would be about what we have learned throughout high school, how we have changed, and how we have grown. But these are not normal times.  Instead, my fellow seniors  and I were forced to attend school virtually the past year, whisking away the dreams of a typical fun senior year full of good memories. I’ve had to adjust to life as a high school senior learning from home. 

Since March of 2020, I have been learning remotely, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. And to tell the truth, it felt like MCPS, and most school systems in general, had no plan for this. Virtual learning started out with no Zoom, no classes, just a few assignments that were due at the end of the week, and it felt lonely sitting in my basement doing school-work for a few hours each day of the second semester. However, by the end of Summer, MCPS seemed to be getting their act together, offering full online classes through Zoom and a real concrete schedule. And that was fine, as we at least had a little normalcy when it came to waking up and attending classes. 

Personally, it was very hard to actually learn through these online classes, as for most courses it would typically entail students getting assignments and teachers being present in case we needed anything. I did struggle with this a little bit, but that may have also been due to a lack of motivation to insert myself into this new situation. 

Ultimately, the most disappointing thing in an already bad senior year was the return to in-person classes through Sherwood’s hybrid learning, as after numerous delays, it was an unappealing experience that was just as interactive as learning from home. It felt like a cheap trick, because if your teacher had declined to come back to school you were stuck using Zoom in the cafeteria. And with only three of my teachers in the building, it felt like a waste of time, so I opted back out, ending my hope of a somewhat normal ending to what fairly can be described as a terrible year. But I’m putting that in the rearview mirror, and I’m going to embrace an optimistic view that the page is turning on the pandemic. Normal times are returning, and I’m ready for it.