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| By Guy Chapman |
For the 2020 graduates, you may have all of us beaten when it comes to "challenging." No one knew that the beginning of Spring Break was also going to be the end of the school year. The various schools still have fliers posted proclaiming: "We will resume normal business hours on Monday, March 16."
No, we would not. By March 13, it became clear something was terribly wrong. By March 17, the world began to really shift. In certain buildings, St. Patrick's Day decorations promised a holiday that no one would be celebrating. Instead, Spring Break went from an intended one week from two and a half months. I suppose Alice Cooper's "School's Out For the Summer" song was never meant to be that prophetic in its lyrics.
For what it's worth, you are still 2020 graduates no matter what a global pandemic says. We've had to come together to find a way to manage, and so have you. That's worth a lot. You didn't give up. This situation did not "beat" you.
I expect for a lot of high school and college graduates, you feel left out on some of the elements of this particular rite of passage: Skip days and Senior events, caps and gowns, a walk across the stage, photos of you holding your diploma, the after parties that you'll never really tell your parents how crazy you got that night, but they already know because they were once in that place themselves. That last carefree summer you have before you truly have to start properly "adulting."
What's important to remember is that even without all the decorations and symbolism of this particular moment in time, it still happened. You're into a new phase of your existence where you get to call the shots on your life more than you have ever before. It's exciting and scary, and it generally lacks a safety net. But you didn't go this alone. Your teachers were right there with you having to navigate this uncertain storm to ensure you succeeded. So were your parents. So was the community in its support.
It's okay to be disappointed right now. But over the years, the graduation experience simply becomes a "tick box" on a life checklist. You aren't going to remember the speeches that night. To be candid, you certainly aren't going to remember the parties. And you'll get to experience the graduation event again when you have kids of your own. It will take on a different meaning then. Perhaps all the "pomp and circumstance" is meant more for the parents in the long run. A graduation of succeeding in their own "adulting."
If you feel discouraged, take a walk around your neighborhood. Take a look at all the signs in the yards that celebrate the work of your teachers and your fellow students. There are signs all over the community. You didn't get the traditional graduation experience, but you absolutely aren't forgotten.
In the end, the Class of 2020 may end up being the strongest graduating class we'll see in our lifetime. Our current life has given you lessons no book could ever teach. In this present unknown and lack of structure, we've seen everyday people carry out acts of intelligence and compassion. This will define our values, our larger view of the world, and prove how necessary being properly educated in all areas is. What you do with that education now is up to you.
While finding that first real job or enrolling for college may be an uncertainty for now, defining the kind of world you want to live in can start as early as today. You really are our future, and us older generations are going to be looking to you to provide the kind of world we all deserve to live in.
But no pressure, of course.
Hang in there, Class of 2020. This year really was your challenge. Things don't always go to plan, but life doesn't provide a script to always say or do the right thing. Some of the best works come from improvisation, so I look forward to seeing what you can accomplish during this strange time.
You've got this. You always did.
Special thanks to writer Guy Chapman for contributing this article.
