Nya McClain, Special to the Advertiser Published 10:37 a.m. CT March 30, 2020 | Updated 10:47 a.m. CT March 30, 2020

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The class of 2020s senior year recently tested positive for Coronavirus.

The better part of a year spent anxiety-ridden over deadlines and testing, mentally exhausted by college essays and class projects, and full of anticipation over reaching the end of our thirteen-year journey and the starting a new chapter of independence, now comes to a screeching halt. A global-pandemic-sized halt. A halt that tosses us into unfamiliar territory of having spare time and questions that neither Google nor Wikipedia can answer. A halt filling us with uncertainty. Uncertainty that looks like prom dresses ready to be worn or returned, college visits postponed or held virtually, and pre-dated graduation invitations that may or may not be mailed.

After spending this school year meticulously managing and mapping out time, time now leaves us hanging in the balance of a short abbreviation TBD.

As cohorts of Generation Z, we are often characterized as being entitled and self-absorbed. Should we ignore the sadness of unfulfilled expectations for our senior year, perhaps replacing it with the worlds shared malaise of the COVID-19 crisis? Is expressing frustration and disappointment symbolic of our selfish generation, or is it typical of any high school senior, regardless of birth year, to wants a special acknowledgment of past accomplishments and future potential?

Nya McClain is a senior at LAMP High School in Montgomery.(Photo: Contributed)

Surely this is why senior photo shoots, class rings, custom invitations and graduation ceremonies were invented to memorialize this milestone year.

My fellow classmates, in due time we will move beyond the uncertainty of the present and refocus on the future that lies before us. In the meantime, lets remind ourselves and others that we are owed the grace to express our unique feelings about this very odd period in time that caught the entire world off guard. As the generation also characterized as being great multitaskers, we are capable of feeling both the personal and earthly gravity of this situation.

We mourn for the loss of getting to fully experience the end of our senior year. In typical response, the world around us is shouting for us to get over ourselves, that people are dying, that we should stop crying about a petty dance. These remarks tend to come from older generations that got to experience these things, the generations that already have their feet on the ground. However, we are not upset because of the dance itself.

We are mourning the loss of the remaining shreds of stability in our lives.

More: 'Don't make me cry': Coronavirus pandemic robs high school seniors of precious memories

For many seniors, we have already spent months stumbling through the college application process, trying to figure out what our futures will look like for the next 4+ years. Before that, we spent our high school years preparing for senior year. Many of us have been anticipating this year since elementary school. Is it wrong to feel upset about losing something you have worked towards for twelve years?

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We understand that many people are suffering. We are just trying to figure out how to cope.

The world often forgets that we are still kids trying to grow up.

Since our childhood, my generation has been told that we will be the ones to change the world.We were not, however, warned of the baggage that came with this responsibility. For many high school seniors, the world has changed drastically in the time it took us to reach our final year of education. Every day, the news cycle spins faster and faster, and for those of us that havent even had the chance to put our feet on the ground, the fear of being swept away feels imminent.

Climate change continues to deteriorate the life span of our planet, and many of us feel powerless against the forces causing it. We have never lived in an America that is not at war. In 2019, there were more school shootings than days in the year. Every day it feels like a new tragedy is thrown at us, and the next one is hurtling towards us before we can even figure out how to deal with the last. Because of this, many of my peerscomment that they feel numb or desensitized.This sensation comes with much guilt and thoughts that we should feel something more, but it is also a necessary copying mechanism.

If we felt the full scope of our emotions every time we were informed of a new tragedy somewhere in the world, we would be reduced to hollow husks of despair. Instead, we take in the world around us, cataloging and analyzing and coming up with creative solutions to our problems. This pandemic has brought about destruction and disruption of the lives we once knew. It also brings with it a new experience in learning and preparation for our generation.

One day, when the world is left to our care, we will be more than ready.

Nya McClain isa senior at LAMP High School in Montgomery

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The virtual reality of the class of 2020: A high school senior's perspective - Montgomery Advertiser