by Jonah Sachs ’20

Seniors around the globe are annually challenged to overcome one of the most daunting tasks of their young-adult lives: adjusting to life on their own. Whether they feel ready for complete independence or dread the day they move away from home, the summer before their freshman year of college is more often than not filled with gradual adjustment to responsibility and the limitless independence they’d desired for so long. COVID-19’s not-so-subtle entrance to the Class of 2020’s final year of schooling, however, could have created yet another distinction between this year and years past: the ease of adjustment. The transition from home-life to alone-life might very well be more abrupt than ever before for many students, now used to the life locked indoors at all hours of the day.

These days, the lives of seniors are filled with Netflix originals, AP studying, and painfully wishing for life outdoors. With no sense of time passage or strict deadlines to complete the daily tasks of quarantine life, many seniors have grown used to a world without urgency. Senior Eliza Averbach says it best, claiming, “I still have to clean my room and do my laundry, but there isn’t really any reason or need to do it in a time crunch.” Without a routine to fill up the day or a task list to keep students motivated, many seniors find themselves lacking the desire to get work done. This lackluster work ethic might prove difficult to overcome when college comes around, granting students a complete three-sixty in responsibility.

What’s more, with MCPS’s new grading policy allowing students to omit worries of grades and GPA for the rest of the year, academically, seniors seem to be losing motivation for their schoolwork, as well as chores and everyday responsibility. Without the goal for academic excellence to motivate students to continue to finish up the year, many seniors in particular have let go of academic responsibility in favor of video games and sleeping late. While this lifestyle seems appealing in a world with nothing better to do, it may prove fatal to seniors’ academic record come the fall, when the readjustment period is slim and fast-approaching. No matter what angle you look at it, seniors’ responsibility and motivation is dwindling from their daily lives.

Still, though, many students are experiencing a boost in responsibility over the last few months of self-isolation. With families contained and students bound to share space throughout the day, many students find themselves with more chores thanks to the increased yield of trash, dishes, and dog-walks. “I’m unloading the dishwasher every single day now,” said senior Emily Greene. “We’re all eating three meals a day, and there’s four people at home.” Additionally, many students find that the stress of teacher-less AP studying has increased their desire to learn content on their own terms. “I found myself watching the live-streams and paying more attention than I might’ve done in class,” said senior Eve Crompton. “Everything is up to me now, and if I want good scores, I need to find self-motivation.” While some students are indeed losing motivation and self-responsibility in a house full of bored individuals, others still have taken it upon themselves to build up an independence in their studies, potentially establishing a study habit early, preparing them for college.

Whether or not students acquire a noon-wakeup and nonchalant urgencies or a strong self-motivation in this quarantine, their adjustment to college is entirely up to them. To work or not to work–this is the question the Class of 2020 finds themselves asking each other as they take these uncertain days as they come.