Dear Class of 2021 (from a Class of 2020 mom)

It’s here. The day you have waited for…The first of the lasts…the big ones one campus, so much to look forward to, it’s senior year… THIS IS IT!!!

….but at the same time… it’s NOT!

What the hell happened? This isn’t what you signed up for! This isn’t what senior year is about. This ISN’T what was supposed to happen!!!

THIS IS NOT FAIR!!!

As a mom of a child who just (and I have to put quotation marks around this) “Graduated” …. I feel your pain. I am the mom of a Class of 2020 kid. And I just have to say….it wasn’t supposed to be like this.

As a mom, please know that MY heart goes out to you.

This year should be filled with silly ASB card pictures (because the yearbook pics have already been taken).

This year should be coming together with all your senior comrades (some of which have been with you since Kindergarten, or even Preschool). It should have you annoyed with your parents wanting to take those LAST first day of school pics where you roll your eyes and smile for the one pic they can post to share with all their friends.

You should have a list of activities waiting for you; something you have been looking forward to for a long time, including FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, the first home game of football.

You are a SENIOR, and ready to blow the roof off the school with your energy…. That was what was supposed to happen!! It’s what you have waited for for 12 years…. yet on the first day of school, you will likely be home… ready to “log in” to the first day of your senior year while wearing your PJs.

What kind of bullshit is this???

I want you to know, as a mom of two kids (one who got to walk properly), what you are going through SUCKS!!

As we waited “on the daily” for updates in my younger daughters senior year, the hope dwindled by the day. The losses were many, and the pain was great. (Not great as in awesome, but great as in massive).

Now, to keep things in perspective, I do get that loss can be measured on a grand scale. What we are going through isn’t all out war so to speak. But there IS a sense of grief with the loss of what was to come. And you SHOULD grieve!

I’m simply here for one reason, I don’t want to make you a victim, or give you reason to blame ANYONE for your lot in life. We have enough “victims” in this world. I am here to hopefully give you an ounce of HOPE through all this.

First of all, I want to acknowledge with you that THIS SUCKS!!! It shouldn’t have been this way.

Second of all, I want you to know that YOU WILL GET THROUGH THIS!!! This ISN’T what you signed up for….but it’s WHAT YOU GOT! So WHAT are you going to DO with it???

The longer I live, the more I realize that the joys in life are in the MOMENTS!

Through the disappointment of Class of 2020 kids, (I learned through my photo sessions with them) that they had moments that kept them moving forward. Class of 2020 CREATED moments of JOY that they could CELEBRATE! It wasn’t the conventional way by any means, but they MADE STUFF HAPPEN! Class of 2020 CREATED MEMORIES and they learned through all this that this is a moment in time that they could survive and look back on. It wasn’t ideal. It wasn’t what they wanted. But it was what they made happen.

So… to class of 2021, here it is…

You are not the fallout of a pandemic. You are AMAZING. You are NOT victims…you are vicTORious! You are STRONG. You are INNOVATIVE. You WILL get through this and you will look back on this time and share it with those who will need your guidance. SHOW THEM GREATNESS. SHOW THEM STRENGTH…. SHOW THEM PERSEVERANCE!!!

I know it’s not what you expected. I know it’s NOT what you wanted or hoped for. But it IS what you get. And you CAN make it great! The choice is YOURS!!!

As I see the Class of 2020 heading off to college and their futures, all I can say is..THEY DID IT! It’s not what they wanted. But they accepted it with grace (but not without emotion) and they moved forward. Most, if not all, will be in the same boat as you. Attending college from a distance learning platform. Most are heading toward their college destinations now, or soon. They aren’t looking back. They are looking forward. It’s not the freshman year they anticipated, but they are ready for whatever comes their way.

Class of 2021…YOU GOT THIS!!!

And to parents: TAKE those first last day pics. Do ALL the annoying things your kids expect you to do. If they are learning from home, GIVE THEM LUNCH MONEY. Buy them homecoming dresses. Do what you would have done and let them live their senior year. Buy them a new lunch box… I don’t care what your ritual was… DO IT! YES…this year may be different, but offer whatever normal you can. Don’t throw your hands in the air.

For what it’s worth…I grieve with you as well. This last 6 months have sucked like no other. Let’s let it not suck any more than it has to. Go school shopping with them. Document it. It’s history. We got this. It’s a moment in time. This too shall pass!

Signed… Mom of Class of 2020 kid….