The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.

"Coming Of Age" Senior Year Experience

By: Grace Lessen, The Quill

I've spent a lot of my teen years watching coming of age movies. Movies like, sixteen candles, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and The Breakfast Club.

A common theme of these movies is anticipating graduation. Of course, these movies highlight the best parts of high school and in a sense, overhyped them.

As my senior year began, I anticipated one of the best years of high school.

My last Art Show, Musical, Concerts and of course Graduation. I anticipated finally being the "top dog" of all these events.

I finally would get to be first in line for food, and presenting big art projects that I was proud of.

Unfortunately, plans drastically changed. On March 13th, 2020 I had my last day of high school and I didn't even know it!

I remember the details of this day very vividly. I remember my Mom said I should take the day off of school, because I had been feeling stressed lately. Thankfully I didn't.

Instead, I had a long lunch with my 3 closest friends, and my boyfriend Logan's family. We all spent time together and laughed. Once we returned to school, we were all so happy and it was hard to keep quiet in our fifth hour class.

Our next class was Art which is our favorite. We spent time listening to our favorite music and drawing together.

During my last class I talked to one of my favorite teachers, "Mr. G". I remember saying, "Do you think we are gonna have to do online school soon?". "Mr. G" responded with, "I really don't know, the state could call us at 3 and say we can't have school".

I'm not sure if "Mr. G" and I are psychic, but that's what happened. The state of Illinois closed all schools and I was faced with the realization that I had just ended my high school career!

Quarantine began, and all of the people I talked to everyday felt so far away. During this time I felt so many emotions, heart ache, fear, joy, uncertainty, and nostalgia. I wondered if I would ever have any closure to these four years of my life.

Around April, the parents of all the seniors in our class began making plans of how we could still celebrate in this strange time. A graduation car cruise was planned. We would all stay in our cars and drive around all three towns in a parade style.

I am so thankful that I got to experience the love from our tight knit community. Although I would have never imagined this being the end of my coming of age movie, I wouldn't trade it for the world.