With one week left in my high school career, I can’t help but laugh at the irony of the 2020-2021 school year being over Zoom, because that’s exactly how it felt: life has been in fast motion and we’ve fast-forwarded to summer. I know this isn’t the zoom-centric article that I typically produce, but with this hectic and epic year coming to a close, I believe it is time for some proper reflection.

We’ve come a long way, you and I. From not knowing how to mute our microphones to now being able to share screens and start meetings effortlessly. Way back in September I don’t think anyone could have imagined what this year was going to bring us, and how quickly we would move through it. At the beginning of this year, I can’t say I was thrilled to start my final year of high school from home. However, navigating the uncharted waters of online school was, if anything, pretty entertaining. A couple of my Zoom highlights might be using the Zoom filters to have matching pink mustaches with my fellow seniors, Skylar Rothman and Katherine Jackson, watching senior Keyan Roshan stage his own kidnapping during class, teachers accidentally leaving class, and hearing stories of all of the unfortunate souls who forgot to mute themselves whilst going to the bathroom this year.

This is the last Monday of my senior year. Of course, this year didn’t go as planned, but it still was special and beautiful. Online school gave us the ability to do school from anywhere: a bed, on a beach, in Florida, riding ski lifts, or in the car on the way to Chipotle (one of my personal favorites). I may not have gotten to watch home football games from packed bleachers, but I was able to catch enough sunsets to last a lifetime. Looking back at the incredible growth and memories this last year has fostered, all of the little things like that might just be enough for me. 

To the current freshmen, I applaud you all. The transition into high school isn’t always an easy one, especially under these circumstances. My first day of freshman year, that warm September day in 2017, was the best-worst day of my high school life. Since you all experienced your first day from the comfort of your homes, you aren’t familiar yet with the pit-in-your stomach feeling you get once you realize just how small you really are. You’re lost one second, walking into a wall three minutes later, then seeking out a Patriot Ambassador to guide you, but mostly wishing you had prepared more for this moment yesterday. The best part, though, is seeing the same panic and fear on the familiar faces of your classmates. That’s when you learn you are all in it together for these next four years. Class of 2024, I wish we could have spent this year a little closer, but the best I can do is give you this piece of advice: your next three years are going to keep zooming by (even faster than this one), especially if they’re in person. Your class is your family. Cherish the coming moments you have because you will never have enough time.

Four years ago seniors told me high school goes by quickly, and in the blink of an eye I’ll be like them: a little taller, wiser, graduating and leaving behind MCPS.

I blinked.

Wootton High School, our ephemeral time together was cut short, but each minute and moment I had with you was a memory I am beyond grateful to have. Signing off, this has been Zara Denison. As always, stay safe, healthy, and happy.