This week, the Class of 2021 will finish up their high school careers a lot differently than what they imagined when they started.

Their freshman and sophomore years were what we see on television – lively pep rallies, exciting football games, and first loves.

Last year, their traditional path was blown to bits.

Schools did their best to celebrate those seniors and spent the summer preparing for a year where no one knew what was ahead.

Almost every day was a new administrative hurdle, and the year started with mandatory masks in the classroom and scrambling to find internet access and laptops for virtual learners.

Students spent the year in front of a computer screen by themselves or sitting in almost empty classrooms while wearing a mask for eight hours.

It would be easy to feel sorry for these teens. They lost a year they can never get back, but they also gained more than any other class has in the last 50 years.

They found resiliency. These teens attended classes despite not being able to see their friends’ or teachers’ smiles.

They learned. They wrote the dreaded English research paper, debated the pros and cons of the American Revolution, either in person or on Zoom, and dissected a frog, either virtually or in the classroom.

They learned to live with uncertainty. No one knew how bad the coronavirus was going to be, especially with cable news outlets broadcasting the daily death toll every minute of every day.

No one knew if they’d have classes or athletic events, yet these teens still decorated banners and posters for the halls.

They matured. Social media is full of “Karen” videos where grown-ups refused to wear masks in stores and made the lives of minimum-wage employees miserable.

Teens working in retail and the food industry learned to take the verbal assaults of these militants and held their ground with maturity and a calm most of us could never achieve.

These teens learned they can obey rules that seemed overkill to them at their invincible age and still get the education they needed.

They learned responsibility. Those who checked in for their virtual classes on a regular basis earned their grades.

Those learned they could take care of their own lives without an adult looking over their shoulder. They found the answers when struggling with homework at 2 a.m. and found creative ways to complete group projects.

There were many who didn’t step up. They did the bare minimum, seldom checked in at school or spent the past year playing video games.

A huge number of teens grew discouraged or were overwhelmed with taking care of younger ones at home and let their studies slide.

There will always be people who do not rise to the challenge – those people have been a part of every generation.

But for those who did what you had to do, congratulations. You now know you have the inner fortitude to conquer any task in front of you.

Class of 2021, hold your head up high when you walk across the graduation stage.

Whenever you face a tough situation in the future, remember you completed your senior year of high school, the year that was supposed to be one of fun, parties and celebrating your future, with dignity.

Be proud you didn’t crumble when the whole world was falling apart.

You persevered despite the overwhelming odds.

Nothing will ever stand in your way.

 

            Next week – a salute to teachers. This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.