HS Seniors - What to expect?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Went to a huge public high school. Almost no memory of the graduation ceremony. Kept the relationships that mattered and left the rest behind for bigger things. I think a lot of of the angst over graduation may be because of the parents’ disappointment at not getting to celebrate what they perceive as a defining milestone in the life of their child, who they raised from infancy and were there for every step of the way, and who now is entering a more independent stage in life.

Your recollections all these years later does not mean you were not excited about it at the time. My senior said she would love it if they could go back just for the last week. Will she care about that when she is 40 or 50 probably not, but right now she does. She does not remember going to Disney at 5 but that does not mean we should not have gone.

I was glad to be done. I promise I had no interest in riding an unfair conditioned bus, waiting outside in the heat, and sitting in a hard metal chair for a lengthy and boring ceremony. The most exciting thing that happened that day was when one of the guys in the class wrecked his very cool, very fast car just outside the school on the way to the graduation ceremony.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you think will happen to all the HS Senior event milestones that are supposed to happen at the end of their school year through all this? Do you think they will still hold a Graduation program or are they SOL?

Loudon said they'll still have a graduation ceremony in person sometime this summer.

I personally think most will not get to have one, which is sad. Having said that, however, I remember HS grad being a big deal until about the moment it was over. Then I was "high school? What's high school?" I was all about college and moving on. Maybe it's b/c i had the closure, maybe not.

[Anonymous]

Can you imagine if testing is not available for a college dorm and a couple of kids have it what will happen???? Our youngest daughter has a disability and works in a freshman dining hall, and we do not see her returning should it open whether fall or winter until the testing and follow along things are well in place because college kids will be coming from all over with different policies having been in place by governors. It really is going to be the contagion factor for the college kids that needs to be considered. Even if she practiced the safety protocols, she could get it from wiping surfaces in the dining hall or if working in the dishroom from silverware of students who do not even know they are ill. In our area some new dorms that were set aside for grad students are being held back for possible health care workers.

[Anonymous]

I feel terrible for my senior. Who is being very mature and resilient. But the closure is missing. Knowing you are something for the last time, saying goodbye, having a ritual helps you close one door and open the next.

We are planning to host a Bon Voyage/ Launching party for our senior in August. Just family and a few people who have meant a lot to him. But something to mark the transition.

[Anonymous]

My HS gave out "Proud of our 2020 Grad" lawn signs which are fun to see in the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Went to a huge public high school. Almost no memory of the graduation ceremony. Kept the relationships that mattered and left the rest behind for bigger things. I think a lot of of the angst over graduation may be because of the parents’ disappointment at not getting to celebrate what they perceive as a defining milestone in the life of their child, who they raised from infancy and were there for every step of the way, and who now is entering a more independent stage in life.

Your recollections all these years later does not mean you were not excited about it at the time. My senior said she would love it if they could go back just for the last week. Will she care about that when she is 40 or 50 probably not, but right now she does. She does not remember going to Disney at 5 but that does not mean we should not have gone.

I was glad to be done. I promise I had no interest in riding an unfair conditioned bus, waiting outside in the heat, and sitting in a hard metal chair for a lengthy and boring ceremony. The most exciting thing that happened that day was when one of the guys in the class wrecked his very cool, very fast car just outside the school on the way to the graduation ceremony.

When my kid graduated last year, we drove as a family in a comfy cool car, enjoyed picture taking before going in, listened to a boring invited speaker and then a WONDERFUL student speaker. The best part was milling around afterwards seeing friends and kids we had not seen in many years. My son had all 4 grandparents together for the day which in itself in an occasion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My HS gave out "Proud of our 2020 Grad" lawn signs which are fun to see in the neighborhood.

My eyes got stuck rolling. This is part of the reason why this generation is going to grow up to be so entitled. Most of the kids are being more mature and flexible than their parents about all of the senior stuff being canceled! When I was a senior, I did not care about any of those events and did not even go to most of them. I went to graduation, but could have done with out. You're supposed to graduate from high school! Unless there are extenuating circumstances, it is not special or a huge accomplishment. My parents told me several times throughout my senior year, "Being a senior is nothing special. College graduation is the big one." Most of the kids of the parents who post on here are probably going to college. They'll get to have a graduation ceremony in 2-4 years. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world and 41,000 in the U.S. alone will not get even live another day because of this pandemic, missing prom and high school graduation are small potatoes in comparison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My HS gave out "Proud of our 2020 Grad" lawn signs which are fun to see in the neighborhood.

My eyes got stuck rolling. This is part of the reason why this generation is going to grow up to be so entitled. Most of the kids are being more mature and flexible than their parents about all of the senior stuff being canceled! When I was a senior, I did not care about any of those events and did not even go to most of them. I went to graduation, but could have done with out. You're supposed to graduate from high school! Unless there are extenuating circumstances, it is not special or a huge accomplishment. My parents told me several times throughout my senior year, "Being a senior is nothing special. College graduation is the big one." Most of the kids of the parents who post on here are probably going to college. They'll get to have a graduation ceremony in 2-4 years. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world and 41,000 in the U.S. alone will not get even live another day because of this pandemic, missing prom and high school graduation are small potatoes in comparison.

No one is minimizing the amount of suffering this pandemic is causing around the world. It is possible to care about those people and still be sad about missing senior year events. And I cared a lot about prom and graduation in high school. I am still close with many high school friends (I'm 33 years old) and we still mention funny things that happened during those events. See we can all list anecdotes until we are blue in the face that contradict each other. There is nothing wrong with caring about special events in life.

[Anonymous]

Also to add another anecdote- I didn't care at all about college graduation. My sister didn't even go to hers, my mom just moved her out of the dorm that day. But graduate school graduation, now that's the big one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My HS gave out "Proud of our 2020 Grad" lawn signs which are fun to see in the neighborhood.

What school/county?

[Anonymous]

I'm happy for all the kids who didn't fit in. Who hated high school and couldn't get out of there fast enough!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm happy for all the kids who didn't fit in. Who hated high school and couldn't get out of there fast enough!

I'm 11:42. That was me in high school! I was bullied very badly and excluded by people who I thought were my friends, which is why I did not go to most of the senior events for my class nor care about them. All I wanted was to graduate and go to college. I was in such a depressed state at times during high school, that my parents were worried I was going to come home and kill myself.

If this had happened during my senior year, I would have been thrilled about getting out early (minus the global pandemic) and not having to hear about the senior events and all of the drama surrounding them and having pressure from teachers and administrators to go to them, when I rather would get a root canal on a Saturday!

[Anonymous]

While I feel for all the seniors, I also recognize that the rest of the world is missing huge milestone events. Almost every person I know has missed a major life event because of Coronavirus. Weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, funerals, the birth of a grandchild, 50th anniversary celebrations, 100th birthday celebrations...it’s really hard. And I recognize that 18 year olds don’t have the life experience to put this into perspective, but they are not alone in this. They’re allowed to be sad, but we need to help them remember that the world will go on when it all blows over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Went to a huge public high school. Almost no memory of the graduation ceremony. Kept the relationships that mattered and left the rest behind for bigger things. I think a lot of of the angst over graduation may be because of the parents’ disappointment at not getting to celebrate what they perceive as a defining milestone in the life of their child, who they raised from infancy and were there for every step of the way, and who now is entering a more independent stage in life.

Your recollections all these years later does not mean you were not excited about it at the time. My senior said she would love it if they could go back just for the last week. Will she care about that when she is 40 or 50 probably not, but right now she does. She does not remember going to Disney at 5 but that does not mean we should not have gone.

I was glad to be done. I promise I had no interest in riding an unfair conditioned bus, waiting outside in the heat, and sitting in a hard metal chair for a lengthy and boring ceremony. The most exciting thing that happened that day was when one of the guys in the class wrecked his very cool, very fast car just outside the school on the way to the graduation ceremony.

There is literally no virtue in being uninterested in these occasions vs. being invested in them. Of course its what is supposed to happen, of course its not a big deal in terms of achievement. Neither is dying, yet funerals are important ceremonial events that mark the beginning and end of an "era" for most people. And graduations being "interesting" are similarly not what makes them important or unimportant to people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My HS gave out "Proud of our 2020 Grad" lawn signs which are fun to see in the neighborhood.

What school/county?

MoCo/RM