A High School Senior's perspective on Covid-19

*If you follow my personal Facebook account, I posted this same post*

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During this time, my heart and prayers go out to countries in deep struggles right now, those who have lost loved ones, and nurses/doctors who are overwhelmed with fear and stress + so much more. While the struggles we are facing currently are not the same depth as Italy/China/Iran, I wanted to put this quick post up about seniors in high school and college right now. As parents/significant others/guardians/grandparents, we appreciate your empathy during this time. Thank you for understanding what cancellations we are potentially facing, and my heart goes out to those who have already faced them. From the possibility of not having graduations or proms or semesters of school at school, it looks pretty grim right now. These are moments we have looked forward to since our first day of school, and things we have worked to earn for 12-16+ years. However, I have definitely been enlightened with some perspective and gratitude during this. I’ve had to look outside of my own disappointment to see the bigger picture of what these cancellations could do. They could prevent/slow/stop the spread of a very elusive & serious virus. They could help protect those who are vulnerable. They could help avoid overwhelming our medical system like so many other countries are facing. This is not all about me and my sadness; it is so much bigger than that. My feelings and my troubles i’m facing are valid, but I have to remind myself that this situation is out of my hands and that I am still (& especially now) called to a higher purpose of loving God and loving others. Loving can look like a lot of things right now: tipping extra well, washing your hands more than you think you should, staying home, calling the grands instead of visiting in person, bringing food to a neighbor in need, spreading positivity on social media (which so desperately needs it), going on a walk with your parents, making a card for someone in a nursing home, coloring/journaling/mindfulness for your own mental health... the list goes on. By turning our focus outward and looking at the big picture, we can realize that God is so much bigger than this. Another thing that provides peace to me is to remind myself that God works for the good in all situations: He is here. In this photo, we can see one good thing (a flourishing environment and atmosphere) that has come from all this pain so far, and I hope the good continues to come in order to provide hope and healing to those who need it. As much as we are struggling right now, we will be able to see the good soon on the other side.

Maybe your senior needs to hear this words, or maybe they need to just soak in the situation right now and just breathe because it’s important we don’t force the healing too fast or shove emotions aside either. It might look like it was a cake walk for me to achieve my current perspective (social media can do that!), but it was very hard for me to process and it took some time with my family walking through it with me. Don't forget that sometimes we just need you, our supporters, to be there with us during the pain and hold us. We don’t need you to fix it or say the right thing because there isn’t anything you can do, as much as we know you want to help.

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Feel free to message me for further explanation, questions, if you need anything, or to stay in touch. We are all in this together!! Thanks for taking the time to read this post. I appreciate each of you.