Dear Seniors,
I’m sure you’ve heard this a thousand times before, but everything’s going to be okay.
We had the last couple of months of our final semester of college stripped away from us by something completely out of our control. We have worked so incredibly hard in our classes, extracurriculars and even in our personal lives to see the effort and passion we put into our work realized. That got taken away from us way before it should have. We didn’t quit. We didn’t fail. We didn’t even step on the seal. Okay, some of us may have done that one. But that’s not why we’re here now. An event, a crisis, a pandemic completely out of our control is why we are where we are now.
Many of you may be thinking, as I thought very early on as well: what about graduation? What about senior week? What about spending the last months of college with some of the best people you’ve gotten to spend four years with in your lifetime? Those questions are valid. And sadly, they may go unanswered. And that truly sucks, and I’m sorry for you and myself. But we have to realize how incredibly important our health is, how valuable it is to spend this time taking care of ourselves and our family members. We can look on the bright side.
There really is an upside to all of this.
We have been given somewhat of a grace period, an undefined number of months that is, in some way, marred with uncertainty, dissonance, and despondence, but, on the other hand, an opportunity for those seeking guidance into the real world. It’s an opportunity to spend time with your family that you likely won’t get to have when you’re in the working world. And some of you may not feel ready to start your careers. I don’t feel ready yet either. And this pandemic, this call for social distancing, has given me the chance to breathe and find clarity before I do take the next step in my life.
But on the other hand, especially for us COM kids, we have reason to believe that certain jobs we were expecting to get won’t be there after all of this is said and done. And those of you with jobs lined up may be in fear of losing your first job, a job you haven’t even started yet. That’s just one more thing that’s out of our control. That’s one more thing to think about during this extremely stressful time.
As COM Ambassadors, we have the responsibility of giving those whose shoes we were once in advice about how to navigate college life. The tables have turned. We need to help our peers, our fellow seniors, navigate whatever this period of our lives is. Tell your fellow senior to think about right now. Thinking about what could have been isn’t helping us right now. Tell your fellow senior to think optimistically about the future. We are going to come out on the other side of this stronger. Be patient. Stay healthy. And I know you’ve heard this a thousand times before, but it’s going to be okay.