COVID-19 has, at this point, impacted everyone’s lives in different ways. All of us have been touched by its reach, whether we are working on the front lines or staying at home. As a senior in college, this virus has changed my entire last semester of school. With the world in a panic-state and life seemingly on hold, I’m here to share with my fellow college students the frustration that we’re all feeling as we miss what are supposed to be some of the “best days of our lives.”
For the many who were supposed to graduate in the Spring 2020 semester, there is a sense of loss. We didn’t realize that our last classes would end so abruptly. We didn’t realize when we left campus on a certain day that it was possibly our last day being on campus. We didn’t realize that this would mean spending senior year without our friends. While there is a good reason that we’re missing these things, it’s okay to feel the sadness and regret that comes with missing those experiences.
In the first days of quarantine, we all thought that things might go back to normal before the end of the semester. Now, we all know that isn’t possible. We are going to miss our graduation ceremonies, our family get-togethers and saying goodbye to classmates and friends that we might not get the chance to see again. All of these life experiences were things that we waited through high school and college for, and we’ve lost them.
I’m here to say that it’s okay to mourn those things. We are missing significant life events. It’s okay to feel angry and distraught and anything else. In this time, we all have something that we are mourning, even if it’s just the life that we expected to be able to live.
Through all of these struggles, I realize how grateful I am for the things that I do still have. My grandfather just turned 77, and he is healthy and whole despite this epidemic. My job still paid me wages when our store was closed, and I have my health. My family is fortunate enough to only have a few people who are working as medical and necessary staff during the quarantine.
I have so many things that I am grateful for, so many ways in which my family is blessed and privileged, but that doesn’t invalidate the feelings that come with missing a significant chapter in life. Even in a time where so many have lost so much, we can also mourn the little losses that we have experienced.