Friday, May 14, was seniors last real day of school. This coming week they will have finals, leading up to their graduation on June 1.

Seniors have faced many challenges this year in light of COVID. Their final year of high school was forced to be online and they did not get to spend one last year with their classmates.

This year has also been different for many seniors as they did not get their usual activities and traditions.

“We didn’t really get many of the benefits most seniors do like prom, a ‘true’ all night grad, and graduation,” senior Nick Bellem said.

Many seniors have been awaiting these activities ever since they were freshman, as they’ve seen other seniors in the past get to enjoy them.

“I have always seen seniors getting to experience all the senior traditions and looked forward to getting to experience them myself,” senior Natalie Nguyen said. “But this year I didn’t really get any of them and didn’t get to enjoy my last year before college.”

Last year’s seniors were also impacted by COVID, however many seniors from this year feel they have it worse.

“With the class of 20, they got half of their senior year, class of 21 got their whole senior year taken away,” senior Salma Nagila said. “It’s hard to not have the senior year that I pictured, but I’m still proud of myself that I made it this far.”

With finals week approaching, many anticipate and prepare for their exams. Finals will begin May 18 and end on May 21 for seniors.

“I’m studying and cramming to prepare for my finals,” Nguyen said. “But also giving myself lots of breaks because I know that finals can not negatively impact my grades.”

This year, due to the challenges students have faced with COVID and distance learning, the county decided to only allow finals to positively impact students’ grades. Many students take advantage of this opportunity.

“I’m not preparing for any of my finals because they can’t have a negative impact and I don’t plan on taking any of them seriously because my grades are high enough,” Bellem said. “Because they are worth so little, even if I did well they wouldn’t do anything to my final grade.”

With the end of the year and graduation in sight, seniors can finally relax and look forward to summer.

“I’m so excited for summer,” Nagila said. “I plan on working and spending some time with my friends before we go our separate ways.”

Many seniors reflect on their senior year and look forward to what the future holds.

“I will miss all the friends I made in high school,” Nguyen said. “But I am ready for the next chapter of my life and can’t wait for college to start.”