We were born right after 9/11 and will be graduating during a pandemic.

The Coronavirus is affecting high school seniors in a special way. Instead of getting just a few short months left of normalcy before our whole lives flip upside down in the fall, we are being forced into a life of self-isolation for our last quarter of high school.

There are a few things that we knew would be at the end of high school: prom, graduation, graduation parties, time spent with the friends we’ve known for years; and that’s all slipping out of our hands, and we can do nothing about it.

Class of 2020, I know what you’re going through. I know how it feels to be stuck at home when all you want to do is see your friends and get out of the house. I know how it feels to cry because you’re scared everything you’ve wanted to experience will disappear. I know how it feels to try and have hope when it feels there’s none left.

The first piece of advice I want to give is, it’s okay to be selfish. It’s okay to be upset that you may not have a prom or graduation or see your friends at school again. It’s okay to be upset that your plans were upended by the Coronavirus. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad about it.

The second piece of advice I want to give is to look for the positive. I know that it doesn’t seem that there is much positivity, but somewhere, there is some. Look for it, and don’t let go of it.

My last piece of advice is, hold onto hope. We aren’t done yet. Our senior year isn’t over yet. Have hope that no matter what happens, we will come out of this stronger, we will make more senior-year memories. There is still hope.

Class of 2020, we will get through this, we will come out of this stronger, we will find a way to finish our senior year. We won’t let this ruin our senior year. We won’t let this break us.