2020 Woodland graduate Daylin Siple

May is a busy time for high school students, particularly seniors. But now, the coronavirus pandemic has canceled sports, competitions and activities, not to mention prom and graduation. What event or activity were you particularly excited for this year? Why is it important to you? How are you feeling missing it?

I have played club softball for 11 years, and varsity softball at Woodland High School for all four years. Softball has been my life for as long as I can remember, and this is going to be my last season since I am leaving for college, and will not be continuing my softball career. Having a senior night was going to be great closure for me, after all of the time I have spent playing ball. It’s heartbreaking that I won’t get that experience, but hopefully over the summer, I am able to play at least one last tournament. It’s hard to think I may have already played my last game, and didn’t even know it.

Many of you talked about the lack of closure this year brought. Tell us about why it’s important to you to have some sense of closure on your educational experience, and what, if anything, you’re doing to make peace with the fact that this period of your life is coming to an end.

It’s important to have a sense of closure because you are ending an era in your life. It’s not just a small insignificant time, but your whole childhood. From your first school friend, to your transition from middle school to high school, to your graduation, those are things you will remember forever. They are events in your life that you’ll tell your kids about, or go back and look at pictures of. And now, because of coronavirus, we are missing a huge piece of those memories. The last half of our senior year, prom, spring senior nights, and graduation. For me, my sense of closure will be the modified graduation and prom my school is putting on, and making a point to see my friends this summer before I go off to college (if it’s safe to do so). Though it won’t be the same as I had originally planned, it’s something, and I’m excited to see what it looks like!

The coronavirus pandemic is an event of global scale and with massive historical implications. But the class of 2020 has lived through a number of other historical events: The 2016 election, the Parkland shooting, a rise in youth activism and more. How have these events shaped you, and how do you think this pandemic will affect your understanding of the world in the future?

As we progress as a society, our youth seems to have more of a voice and influence in our world. Events such as school shootings, elections, etc, really provide a lot to think about. With these things happening around us, we naturally form our own opinions and beliefs. These opinions shape who we are, and affect our decisions as we get older. Not only do these events shape our beliefs, they are part of our experiences. This pandemic, for example, has encouraged me to be grateful for the things I have, and has served as a reminder to me to never take anything for granted. In the future, I will cherish every moment, because you never know when a moment will be gone.