Dear Class of 2020,
I write to you today as a fellow senior. Like you, I am mourning the loss of what would have been the end. Many of us have experienced the pain of losing someone close to us and in this case it is something: our senior year. Sometimes we do not realize how quickly the world can take things from us. We didn’t know that the day we walked out those doors would actually be our last. It all happened so fast, just as how our senior year flew by.
Some of us have worked hard to get where we are. We have pushed ourselves through what felt like endless hours studying and doing homework: 12+ years worth of hard work and determination. We have become leaders within our community. We stepped onto the court or field ready to take on anything that might be in our way. We anticipated celebrating those moments all together one last time. The end marked a finish line, closing a chapter in the big book of life and beginning another. Our lasts were our sense of closure.
No, we won’t get to go to Cedar Point like every other class. We may not get dressed up one last time and dance the night away. And we may not get to walk across the stage, extending our hand with a smile on our face. We may not throw our last pitch or hear the gunshot for our last race. We may not get to say goodbye to the teachers who changed our lives. But we will have the memories. The memories of every second, minute, hour or day that we spent together. I challenge you to cherish these memories and be thankful for each and every one of them.
Think of the hug you gave your friend on the field after the victory at the Dover-Phila game, the tears you shed in pure happiness, the pride you had for your team. Feel your feet touch the ball as you scored the winning goal. Hear the sound of the can crack open with the tennis balls of your toughest match. Laugh at the ridiculous joke Mr. Hindman tried to crack in class. Relive that first feeling of fear you experienced walking into DHS for the first time. Remember what it was like to walk the half flight of stairs and thinking that you were on the third floor.
And above all else remember the friends you have made. People in our lives come and go. They make us laugh, cry and annoy us until we go insane. But these are the people we have made the memories with. They have been there for us through every heart break, every losing game and every failed test. In our toughest moments these are the people who have kept us going, the ones who made it shine bright on the darkest day. They are our world and no pandemic can put an end to our friendship.
So thank you Class of 2020. Thank you for giving me a reason to wake up everyday. Thank you for always being involved in your community. Thank you for smiling in the hallway. Thank you for building bonds that are unbreakable. Thank you for setting standards high and for pushing each other to do better. Thank you for being all in this together.
Now seems right to recall a memory I know a lot of us have: singing the Alma Mater after a basketball victory, arms locked over each other, either looking up into the stands or down upon the players and cheerleaders. Our voices unite in the only lyrics we all actually know: “Memories dear we’ll cherish…Dear Old Dover High we’ll always loyal be”. A statement more true than ever to our senior class.