Most people know that this past year wasn’t the best. From a worldwide pandemic to wildfires, multiple natural disasters, social unrest, and the various deaths of icons from around the world, this year can be labeled as one of the worst.

For current seniors, 2020 was anything but ideal with a lot of special events for their last year of high school being taken away from them.

When Covid-19 hit in March, many were excited to get school off for a couple of weeks but unfortunately, weeks quickly turned into months and things still haven’t returned to normal almost a full year later.

As the year progressed, it became clear that even though things were not ideal, there were still little moments that made it better.

For many, quarantine was an opportunity to spend time with family, see new and old friends, take up fun hobbies, have surprising experiences, and try to make the best out of one of the craziest years in history.

Even though most people are upset that this past year didn’t go as planned, 2020 happened and it’s so much better to focus on the good things rather than the bad.

Hearing positive moments from other students can help everyone to focus on the best things that came out of 2020 and see that there still were some high points.

Freshmen:

“Even though I wasn’t able to be with my friends in person for some of 2020, seeing them on facetime and doing our best to stay in touch is something that made that year much better for me and showed me the true meaning of friendship.” – Charlotte Patel

“2020 made me more aware of the great things that happen in life. Losing things, for example, school, made me appreciate it more.”
– Ainsley Smith

Sophomores:

“My favorite memory from 2020 is Nationals. I’m so glad we were able to make it to Orlando before Corona hit, and it is the best weekend of my life. It gave me something special to remember throughout quarantine, and all the memories made in those 4 days made up for everything that got canceled the rest of the year.” – Elsa Dahlgren

“Without a doubt, my favorite memory from 2020 was making the varsity dance team. Although COVID caused many disruptions and cancellations of events, I found a way to utilize my new free time and to work even harder at a goal that I always dreamt of achieving. When the tryouts finally came around, I was prepared due to the time I spent on my skills throughout quarantine. It was one of the best feelings in the world learning that all my extra practice paid off. Running out of the comp gym doors and into the arms of my new teammates as we all cheered with joy is a memory I will cherish forever.” – Mia Dalessandro

Juniors:

“Even though 2020 was a hard time for everyone, there were some good moments. Some of my favorites were having a Gilmore girls marathon with my sister and family dinners every week!” – Christina Carris

“My favorite memory of 2020 was when I spent a week in Green Lake Wisconsin with my friends over the summer.” – Summer Webb

Seniors:

“One of my favorite memories of 2020 has to be going camping in Wisconsin with my best friends. Due to so many summer events getting canceled, we still wanted to do something fun that was COVID safe, and camping was our best option. We had the best time ever sleeping in hammocks, cooking our meals over a fire, and hiking. This will turn into a summer tradition for us.” – Tess Ivinjack

“My favorite memory from 2020 was working at Exmoor this summer with Callie and Sadie.” – Grace Blendonohy

“Looking back on 2020, I don’t think I have one specific memory that is my favorite but rather a period of good memories: when we were back in school. Of course, I didn’t think that would be my highlight of 2020, but now that we aren’t in school, it makes me realize how much fun that was and how much I enjoyed being back in the building when life was normal.” – Caroline Carter

“4th of July was a really fun part of 2020 since I got to be around all my friends and still make fun memories even with everything that was going on.” – Dani Verlen

“A highlight of 2020 for me was going on a 2-week RV trip with my family and getting to see the Bryan and Zion national parks.” – Heidi Schoeller