I believe one of the greatest feelings is being a Senior in high school. It’s the year that we have to say goodbye to the school in which we spent four years or more of our lives, walking around the hallways knowing most of the students and the teachers, and knowing in a few more weeks our new chapter of life will start. But what about this year’s Seniors? Virtual learning is not an easy option for everyone, especially for the class of 2021, because they face more than just attending online classes or doing homework. Many Seniors are applying to colleges which requires them to write many essays for their applications. While the deadlines for that are soon, school is getting harder every day. Many events that Seniors should have, might be canceled this year due to Coronavirus. Seniors are also worrying about how their Prom this year will look like, or if they will have in-person graduation or not. 

I interviewed one Charlottesville High School Senior, Nick Mohammed Aman, and asked her some questions like how she feels about passing her classes this year. She replied, “I will fail my classes.” Ms. Mohammad Aman is a student who tries her best to excel at all times, but everything seems too much this year for her. She is also planning to apply for early decision and early action, as well as for many scholarships that require her to write many essays in a short period of time. She spends most of her time behind the computer screen trying to do her school meetings or finish homework and college applications. She also mentioned how much fear she has because of her constant heavy workload: spending eight to nine hours per day on her computer and having more than three meetings every day beside her school meetings.  

Another Senior that is facing a lot of problems this year is Niq Scott. Niq has always been on the honor roll, but now Niq is failing most of her classes while we are still in the sixth week of school. Niq also has many meetings besides her school Zoom classes and spends many hours on her computer screen. 

Seniors came up with some suggestions on the surveys for how to improve this school year. They include: a day off for Seniors to get help with their applications, more guidance through college applications, not having homework assigned on weekends. Less work since classes give multiple assignments every night, meeting face to face once a while, having no attendance on Fridays. Lastly, a chance for seniors to meet together once a month to chat and receive some help and support. This might be a small change but for seniors, it would mean a lot. An idea that grabbed my attention was “I would like for only Seniors to go back to school because doing everything that seniors [have to do] by ourselves is hard mentally and physically. That’s why in my opinion I would prefer if Seniors go back to school.” I think if only seniors went back, there would be social distancing and Seniors will get the support they need before graduating. 

Additionally, the school should understand that all students are going through a lot right now — not only school or college work, but also the pandemic that is around us, with people losing their loved ones every day due to a virus we can’t find a cure for. One student said, “[The administration should consider] our mental health more and, if we have a hybrid schedule, prioritize seniors’ classes.” 

Many students are struggling in virtual learning, some students are doing well and like it, while some are doing fine, although they prefer in-person. A student says “I think that the school system is doing about as well as they can with online learning, but it’s simply not as good as in person.” Another student answered “I think it’s fine,” when asked if school should make some decisions to make virtual learning easier. 

“Class of 2021, it looks like coronavirus might very well steal our entire senior year, in one form or another. We will likely have no sports, no college tours, no normal homecoming, no senior trip, no normal prom, no normal graduation”