Two years ago, we all thought we were getting an extra week of spring break. Little did we know it would turn into so much more. We figured out that life could change in an instant and it would affect not just the community of Washington, but the nation as a whole.

As I was just a sophomore when this was happening, it took a lot for me to truly understand what it meant. I’m still learning what it entirely means. I think we all are. Some of us have experienced more than just a pandemic. Some of us have experienced loss, sickness, and overcoming.

Something I have realized recently is that it has messed with the growing up of the community more than we realized before. Sure, us seniors missed out on two years of high school, and that sucks, don’t get me wrong. However, the last time that the current freshman were in an actual classroom setting was in the sixth grade. The ages of physical growing up is typically in your middle school years. You learn about who you are and who you want to be, but our freshman never got those experiences.

Then there are questions to be asked. At what point do you blame it on the maturity of growing up in a pandemic? At what point is it at the fault of the child? What are the different ways to overcome this? The true answer is, there is no answer. We can only be supportive as a community to instill the growth of these kids who never got the chances to truly make a difference in themselves.

My hope for when I return to the community of Washington, we are prepared to help make these differences, not solely in the classroom, but in the community as well. It takes a leader to instill this hope and confidence in the community they were once raised to make a difference. All of these beliefs that have been told to us as we were raised, it is finally time to utilize them and benefit the community of Washington.