SITTING DOWN WITH SEBO (EP 1)

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SALEM, OH- One of the most influential names you’ll hear in our area no matter the conversation you’re in is Bob Sebo.

Mr. Sebo has been a Valley native going back to his childhood and being raised in Salem.  Bob was a featured member of the football, track, and basketball teams, and also lettered in the band at the time.

While his stint in sports was relatively short, his impact on area athletics has been felt seemingly forever.  Bob Sebo has had a successful career as a businessman and entrepreneur, so much so that he’s been able to give back to many causes, and sports programs around the country- and even more here in his backyard.

Bob Sebo is a man of humility who loves being able to pick up the phone and talk to coaches he’s met or even helped along the way.

For our first sit down with Bob Sebo, YSN’s DJ Yokley talks about the history, and passion that sports have provided for Bob, along with how his career in sports taught him to be in business.

FROM SLEEPING ON THE SIDEWALK TO WALKING ON SUNSHINE

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CRANBERRY, PA- “Keep it Fresh” was some advice that a young Youngstown entrepreneur received in his early days of starting a business.

Since those words were uttered, Sean Pregibon has delivered freshness in his restaurants, and in nearly everything he touches.

Pregibon’s entrepreneurial story began when he was cooking for his family in his youth.  Simply put, he did what he had to do in order to do his part.  Sean never wavered from standing out even at an early age, teaching his fellow students his way of cooking during a show and tell.  While others were bringing in their most sacred toys- Sean was showing life skills.

Sean’s story picks up after a career in finance when he dropped everything to create “The Youngstown Sports Grille” 22 years ago.  In that time, Pregibon housed some of the Valley’s biggest names to come through the doors, and have a bite to eat.  Pregibon recalls the lesson he was told he remembers most “You have to be willing to sleep on the sidewalk.”  Translation: to be a business owner, you have to understand that leaders eat last, and sometimes don’t see paychecks until long after the bills are paid.

So, why would a sports streaming company cover a business owner for a feature?

It’s simple: Sean, like all successful athletes, had to give up everything for something nobody could see but them at the time.

Now with one of the most successful sports restaurant’s in Western Pennsylvania, and having his kids making headlines at Cardinal Mooney- we asked Sean to share some of his story with us.

PRESENTED BY

THANK YOU SENIORS: JIM HANEK

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“Individual commitment to a group effort-that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” -Vince Lombardi.

Sports has a way of uniting people from different backgrounds in the pursuit of one goal. They develop character, teach life lessons, and provide athletes a platform to achieve goals never thought imaginable. Unfortunately for our four seniors due to circumstances beyond their control that platform was yanked from beneath them.

Sports teaches life lessons. One of those lessons, “life is not always fair” is being taught in the cruelest of  ways. Of all the different possibilities this season held, the events that have transpired were the last thing anyone would have imagined. As difficult of a situation this has been, I know these kids will overcome this adverse situation and use it as a positive going forward in their life’s endeavours.

I would like to thank my seniors for their hard work, leadership, and commitment they have demonstrated throughout their career here at South Range.

Justin Marrie, was slated to play as a corner outfielder this season.

Matthew Lucas, was expected to factor in as a corner outfielder this season. These seniors would have provided us with much needed depth in our outfield to handle all game situations.

Nolan Shannon, trained extremely hard this offseason. He was coming off a strong 2019 campaign and was one of our top arms heading into this season. He was expected to give us a high volume of innings on the mound and play a key role in trying to repeat as league champions.

Kristopher Scandy, returns as a starter from the 2018 State Championship team. He was expected to provide leadership and experience anchoring our middle infield, as well as hit at the top of our batting order.

These seniors will be missed. Their contributions to the program over their 4 years at South Range will not be forgotten. Their  hard work, leadership, and commitment will serve them well moving forward in the next chapter of their lives. South Range Baseball is very proud of what you have accomplished over the course of your career, and is forever grateful for what you brought to the program. South Range wishes you the best of luck, and looks forward to your future accomplishments.

Once your Coach, forever your friend.

 

Jim Hanek

South Range Varsity Baseball Coach

THE FINAL ROSE: KENZEE JOHNSTON

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As we all know COVID-19 has wrecked many of our plans for 2020. For me, as a high school senior, it has ruined some of the most important events of my high school career. I am missing out on my senior year of softball, senior events, and even graduation has to be altered. I no longer get to stand alongside my fellow classmates, and best friends, to celebrate the end of our high school career and the beginning of our future. 

I have attended East Palestine since kindergarten, and let me tell you I am proud to be a Bulldog. Sports have impacted my life immensely, here I have grown as a person and made some of my best friends. I have been an active member of both the basketball and softball teams for East Palestine. With being such a small community, EP has one of the best cheering sections at sporting events. All of our home games would be packed with fans, and it is one of the best feelings knowing you are surrounded by people who support you and your teammates. As an athlete, there is no better feeling than looking into the crowd and seeing your town come and support your team. And East Palestine never left the stands empty. Having such a supporting town is something I will always remember when leaving East Palestine. Our fans helped cheer us on to win some of our biggest games during this basketball season. Due to our softball season being taken away due to the Coronavirus, the one thing I will for sure miss is the fans and all the support our team had. 

 Losing my senior year of softball broke my heart. This is the year that every high school athlete looks forward to. I no longer get to step out onto the field as number 5 again. Throughout the past 3 years I was awarded the Golden Glove award, Most RBI’s, and the Offensive coaches awards in softball. Along with those awards I was nominated first team EOAC and broke the record for batting average in a season with .539 my junior year. I’m going to miss all of my teammates who made the past 3 seasons the best that they could have been. I am also going to miss the coaching staff. They have pushed, and challenged me since my freshman year and helped me reach all of my accomplishments. I wish them the best of luck next year! 

Although this has been a rough ending to my senior year, my time at East Palestine has been amazing. I would like to thank all the teachers who have helped me throughout the years. They have motivated me and pushed me to go further, and made me want to get a higher education. A big thank you also goes out to all of my coaches, especially the ones I have had at the high school level. They have taught me that I can overcome anything that is put in my way, and nothing can stop me from doing what I love. Also my parents, family, and friends who have been next to me through everything and support me through all of my decisions. 

Lastly, I would like to give a huge shoutout, and thank you, to YSN. The way they have supported me, and my teammates has been unbelievable.

 

Sincerely,

 

ONCE A FALCON, FOREVER A FALCON

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By TJ Parker

 

Before I was a father, a husband, teacher, and coach, I was a kid growing up in Austintown, Ohio. I didn’t have much, which is to say that I grew up without many of the material things most of my friends were fortunate enough to have. But what I lacked in possessions was more than made up for in love and attention from my parents. My mom hunted for deals at TJMAXX and Gabriel Brothers so I could look good at school. My dad, who was my first coach and mentor, shared with me the West Side traditions he grew up with, most of which centered around Chaney Football. That’s right, I grew up a Cowboy. I was transfixed by the brotherhood my dad’s friends and former classmates had. However, I lived in Austintown and wouldn’t be attending Chaney, so I felt like my dad’s experiences would be his alone. That all changed when I went to my first Austintown Fitch football game. It was the West Side Rivalry itself, kicking off a new season under those Friday night lights in front of a crowd of 10,000. I walked into the game a Chaney fan ready to cheer them to victory, but my mind soon changed. I noticed my friends running around in the same Austintown Colts jersey I had on, playing on the practice field alongside our friends and rivals on the Little Falcons. We collected shredded newspapers to celebrate every touchdown, waved our towels and threw our mini footballs.  From that moment on, I was enamored with Fitch Football; not necessarily because of what was happening on the field, but because I was with all my friends, going through this new and exciting experience together. This feeling persisted throughout elementary and middle school until I finally arrived at Fitch my freshman year and could finally wear that red and blue jersey. This was made even more memorable by finally joining forces with my friends from AMS, and that year we ended the season by beating Boardman with a last-second field goal to win the Steel Valley Conference. That was the year that I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life, and everything I’ve accomplished since was with that future in mind.

 

An old proverb states that it takes a community to raise a child, and those words never rang truer than they do for me. Nobody gets there alone. I’m a product of my environment, and owe my well-roundedness to a number of families besides my own. When not at home with my parents, I was at my friends’ homes with their families and was looked after as if I was one of their own. Those around you at the beginning, the ones who help see you through trials and tribulations, are often the ones that are most impactful and memorable later in life. The Bokesch’s, Dockry’s, Howley’s, McGlynn’s, Polish’s, Roche’s, and Sterling’s were surrogate families to me and all played roles in shaping me into who I am today, and to them I am forever indebted. If you asked me twenty years ago where I saw myself in the future, my answer would have been working as a teacher in Austintown, married with kids, and the head coach for Fitch Football. Fast forward to today, I’m finally living the dream I had all those years ago. I’m married to the love of my life (Fitch c/o 2006) and we’re raising our three children (Fitch classes of 2034, 2036, and 2039). I’m grateful beyond words for where I am, but I know that it’s time to speak another dream of mine into existence.

 

 

Now I look around me and can’t help but notice the pride that was once prolific in our individual local communities has faded; the brotherhood I experienced growing up has all but disappeared, broken down into cliques of people that seem to have their own interests atop their list of priorities. I interviewed for this job believing that its scope would go far beyond football. This was about rediscovering the pride students, residents, & alumni once had for Austintown, and football was and is going to be the catalyst. The pride I know still exists, simply waiting to be brought back to light. This is something that will not happen overnight. But Falcon Nation, in a pretty short time, we’ve all felt it! That energy, although just a small taste, is growing. I want resident families to be proud of sending their kids to Austintown and not worry about them getting “lost” in such a big school, and trust that their kids are being looked after and guided in the same selfless manner in which I was raised.  To know that Austintown is a microcosm for our real world melting pot and believe that their children will be better adults for having walked these halls. Regardless of on-field success or failure, our students will succeed in life because they understand what it means to be committed, to compete, and to be elite not just for themselves, but for each other, so they can all succeed together. That is what Austintown has meant to me and that is what I want to bring back to this community. Now I realize I am not for everybody. Whether you share my personality or not doesn’t matter.  However, if you don’t strive to be your best self in life, or if you don’t have dreams and aspirations that motivate you everyday … I’m not for you.  But if these things do drive you and rule you, Austintown, and more specifically our football program, then we will be a good fit.

 

Austintown will be great, and we will get there with fully committed people- people that want excellence for themselves, their families, their friends, and this town. Please understand that none of this equates to wins, but the pride will be as strong as it ever was. Our kids will continue being pushed to become the best versions of themselves, both academically & athletically. Even now, Austintown is a place where students are provided opportunities to achieve, opportunities they won’t find comparable anywhere else. Where a student is so much more than a player on the football team, part of the speech and debate team, or a member of the band; they are FALCONS! This is at the core of what “Feed The Nest” embodies. I want those people on my team, in my community, and around my family. The best will be developed here.

 

Thank you Austintown, and thank you to all the coaches who have impacted my life:

Mickey Hians, Jim Penk, Kopp Family, Marc Presley, Tom Moss, Kevin Snyder, Bart Dockry, Don Sherwood, George Budaker, Justin Walters, Don Dobrindt, Jake Corbett, Mike Cefalde,  Brad Clyde, John Hudson, Joe Paris, Rob Santee, Chris Inglis, Brian Beany, Gary Conroy, Jeff Leeper, and Wally Ford.

TJ Parker
Head Coach
Austintown Fitch Football

A STORY UNFINISHED

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By Brooke Bobbey

 

Imagine sitting through 12 seasons of a show you love. You connect with the characters and follow the plot religiously. Every week you wait for the next episode to air. This week is the final episode of the last season, where all the loose ends are wrapped up, and you finally get closure. However, just as it’s about to begin…the tv freezes. You sit there and wait, hoping that it will resume any second. After waiting nervously for a while, you find out that you will never get to see the last episode you’ve been waiting for.

This situation is very similar to the one seniors across the country found themselves in. We waited 12 years to get to our senior year and share our many lasts with the group of kids we grew up with. But just as we were nearing the end, it was cut short due to the global pandemic. We will never get the closure we were waiting all this time for. If last year you told me this is how my senior year would end, I would think it was a joke. It is mind-blowing that I had already experienced so many lasts without knowing it. I didn’t know last year would be the last time I would get to represent Poland Seminary High School on the softball field. I didn’t know I wouldn’t get to play alongside my best friends again or have a normal prom or graduation. No one could have prepared any of us for what was going to happen.

I couldn’t be more thankful for all the memories we were able to make up to this point. Over the last four years, I was privileged to get to know some of the most amazing friends, athletes, and teachers one could hope for. I was able to create lifelong friendships, play alongside great athletes, and be taught by amazing teachers and coaches. In the scope of things, my last four years of high school are what shaped me into the person I am today. All the hard work was done; these last three months were supposed to be the fun ones where all the loose ends are wrapped up. Unfortunately, because of the Coronavirus, it seems like we never got the closure we were waiting for. On March 12, we were asked to leave the building for the final time. We didn’t get to thank our teachers for everything they have done for us. We didn’t get to walk the halls for the last time or say goodbye to the kids we wouldn’t see in the summer. We never got to finish the story we started writing our freshman year.

Even though it seems like we are missing so much, we know why. Every day we look at a death tally on the news that continually increases, which is why Governor DeWine’s decision to remain online for the rest of the school year was widely accepted. Our loss in this situation is someone else’s gain. By not returning to school, we are aiding in a bigger cause. Thankfully, we are surrounded by so many incredible administrators and community members that are doing everything they can to make sure we end our senior year right. The Poland Community is so strong that they never fail to cater to those in need, and for that, I am blessed to be a bulldog.

Lastly, to the Class of 2020, I challenge you that as we write the end to our final chapter not to forget, we have a whole new one to create.

So I ask, “How will you begin your new chapter?”

 

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN?

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By Matt Weymer

 

Governor DeWine’s announcement today that schools will not reopen this year means that the 2020 baseball season is canceled. While I understand the necessity for this unprecedented action, I am devastated for all of those in our area and our state who endlessly love the game of baseball. 

Coaching has provided me the privilege of being around so many talented student-athletes. Each graduating class leaves with stories of tremendous victories and crippling defeats. For some, the phrase “what could have been” is used to underscore an opportunity that for one reason or another never materialized.

Our 2020 season was going to feature 8 young men who have given so much to me, their teammates and Ursuline High School baseball over the past four years. Their commitment to improving themselves as players and individuals has been observed during practice, at community service events, and in the classroom. No matter the obstacles placed in front of them, they represented our program, their families, and their school with unmatched dignity. This spring was supposed to be a culmination of all their hard work. The challenges of the last three seasons were destined to pay off. They, along with their teammates, were going to put a banner on the gym wall. Instead, we will always be left with “what could have been”.

Our seniors are not the only ones impacted by these unfortunate circumstances. I feel bad for the parents in our program who have become accustomed to watching their sons play baseball all over our Valley (despite the unpredictable weather). I feel bad for our underclassmen who have lost a year of experience and the enjoyment of being with friends during competition. I feel bad for our coaches who worked in the offseason to get our players ready.

I was lamenting this situation recently to a friend. I told him our program was very much looking forward to this season and how disappointed I was that our seniors were probably not going to have an opportunity to author the last chapter of their baseball story. While he understood my frustration, he said that the most important thing is that they will still get to write the rest of their “story” after high school baseball.

So, that is how I will choose to remember the “lost season” of 2020. It is a skipped chapter in a very long book. When this health crisis passes, we will resume the story of Ursuline Irish baseball. I know our coaches and returning players will be eager to write chapters filled by stories of success and I know our families will be excited for the return to normalcy that comes from their kids participating in high school athletics. 

To those 8 young men who will be leaving, thank you. Thank you for giving our baseball program four years of dedication and unforgettable memories. I hope that your entire experience at Ursuline High School has prepared you for whatever comes next in your life. Each of you will always have a place in our dugout. As far as “what could have been” in 2020, no one will ever know. However, I would have loved our chances with each of you wearing the green and gold.

Vince Armeni

Colin Balas

Drew Gerchak

Justin Graygo

Jeremy Kreuzwieser

Brent Nelson

Patrick Rubinic

Andrew Sabella

 

I love you all.

 

CHAMPION OF CHANGE

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By Allison Smith

When author Lemony Snicket helped write the books titled “A Series of Unfortunate Events”, he did not realize he was describing the end of the 2019-2020 school year. Just like there are 17 books in the whole series, there seems to be just as many problems going on in the world around us; mainly the Coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic has had so many negative effects on a global aspect, as well as in our own backyard. Corona has taken many things away from a lot of people, but a softball season doesn’t even compare to losing a family member or loved one. Softball season wouldn’t be the same without family, and community support. If you’ve ever been to a Champion softball game, especially during playoffs, you know how many people come out to support and how huge of an impact the fans make on us players. We as players feed off of their energy. There is no better feeling than knowing your whole community is there supporting you and they will be proud of you no matter what. This is truly what makes Champion so special. IT starts with the escorts out of town by the police and fire departments, and the support of the school administration and teachers. It is a softball town, who is so supportive, caring, and awesome whether it be at the games or at Sparkle Market. 

This Flashes softball team has a deep, rich history with many accolades and state records. During my freshman year, both softball and baseball won a state championship. 

Then we went back to back, not to be outdone by the three-peat we accomplished last year. This year, we had the chance to break the record for most state championships in a single sport, and this fourth year would have had a chance to be one of the few public schools to win four state championships in a row. Going Four for four would be a dream come true. It is something my teammates and I, especially the other seniors on the team have talked about since freshman year. We would have never dreamt about not being able to complete our fourth year due to a health pandemic like the Corona. 

There are five total seniors on this softball team who have all played Champion softball together since we were six years old. As we grew up together, we could not wait to be coached by Coach Weaver and hopefully carry on the Champion tradition and legacy. Coach Weaver gives us the freedom to be and play loose even in the tightest of competition. She is what drives Champion softball to the top year after year. I will never forget the memories of dancing with my teammates to songs like The Wobble, Sweet 

Caroline, and The Cupid Shuffle before the state games. The amount of support we give each other as teammates is one of the biggest reasons these teams are successful. There is a cliche saying that there is “no I in team”, but for us it is true. We always have each other’s backs and this truly makes for a great experience every year. 

Playing softball with these girls is something I will never take for granted. One teammate I am especially close with is Sophie Howell. She is a great player, friend, and teammate who is also a great competitor. She and I combine to make a duo that is able to give our team a chance to win every game. It is always nice to know a pitcher has your back. It is also nice being a pitcher when you know your team is going to score runs. For my entire high school career, we have had great hitters that make scoring runs come natural. The offense is strong one through nine, but it helps when you have batters such as Cassidy Shaffer, Brooke Whitt, and Emma Gumont holding down the fort in the middle of the lineup. Due to the Corona Virus we are not only losing the game of softball, but losing all of our memories outside of the games like pranks, Cracker Barrel runs, sleepovers, and scavenger hunts. This whole situation does not feel real, but when you drive by the softball field and realize you may not be able to play your last year, it hits home.

I wish this virus had never had happened at all like any person right now, but I understand the precautions that need to be and are being taken in order to keep our loved ones safe. In my eyes, no softball game is worth risking the lives of players, coaches, parents, and fans.

 

 

DEPRIVATION AND DESPERATION

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By Chase Franken

 

The definition of baseball is “a ball game played between two teams of nine on a field with a diamond-shaped circuit of four bases.” A game that can simply change a life… or millions of them. Fathers and sons are out in the backyard each day tossing a white ball with red seams that doesn’t seem like a big deal. It is. That game of catch can bond a father and a son. The conversations I have had with my father while playing a game of catch go beyond baseball. So yes a white ball being tossed back and forth does mean a little something more than what it seems like. Right now a kid and his father walk into their home to turn on Sportstime Ohio to watch their beloved Indians baseball team… but there isn’t a game on. There’s no crack of the bat or the cheering of the crowd every time a big play is made. The father and son who planned to watch the game together have been deprived of their opportunity to bond once again. Tell me that baseball is just a game. Tell me that taking it away is what is best for us.

 

God has blessed my teammates and me with a unique talent. It takes a little more than physique and athleticism to be able to play the game of baseball. It takes hard work and dedication to boring details, and those boring details end up meaning the most in the big situations. If this much detail is put into someone’s work, then it becomes a lifestyle. We hear that all the time don’t we? “Baseball isn’t just a game, it’s a lifestyle.” People laugh at it, but it’s true. Just like any other sport or activity or career that you worked hard to perfect, baseball takes over someone’s life. Once again I say. Tell me that taking this away is what’s best for us.

 

Why is it fair that everyone else got to graduate in the correct way? Why can’t we be the same as everyone else? Why us? When we’re all grown men and women and we look back we’re going to see an incomplete senior year. We’re going to see all of the opportunities that were lost in the amount of time we missed. Some senior years end in state championships that change lives forever. Do we really want to take that chance away from the high school ballers who have dreamed of winning it all? Are we even saving lives by taking away those moments? Are we overprotecting teenagers who are barely at risk if at all? No one really seems to know. We have never done this before and it makes us seniors really sad that the people in charge don’t see the situation too well through our eyes.

 

I am mindful that people are getting seriously ill and dying in America and around the world. This disease is very serious. No one wants to see their family member or friend pass away, especially from this virus. My grandpa is 80 years old and is considered a high risk. We know the dangers.

 

Are we sure taking away our rights is saving my grandpa’s life? I don’t think everyone agrees. It hurts to know that the elders in my life have no say in what happens to our school year or season. My grandpas really want me to play. One of them even came home all the way from South Korea to watch me. My friends and I have been dreaming of the year 2020 since we were kids. We always knew this was our big year. This year we are supposed to get to attend our last prom, play our last seasons, run our last meets. And none of us have a choice on if we can do these things or not. What hope do we have? Can anyone see this through our eyes? Can anyone realize that they most likely do not know what having their senior year taken away feels like? It hurts to say the least. I can guarantee one thing. My family would much rather watch me play my senior baseball season then be protected from a virus even if it’s a terrible one. This has never been done before and we’re just all wondering I guess why this year everything has to be canceled when the country has had so many die before from other viruses.

 

As time goes on during this break I can feel my sense of reality dwindling away. I’m waiting to wake up from this dream. I’m sure most of my classmates and teammates can agree with me. We live in the most free country in the world and we can’t even participate in our last season? Our last year? This has a heavier effect on kids that deal with depression. Having this disorder only gets worse when situations like these occur. We’re living in a dystopian society and depression is going to begin to take over if we don’t return to real life soon. To the naked eye, who wouldn’t think that this is the right thing to do? Shutting everything done just means no physical contact and therefore no spread of disease. But this is America! The land of the free where we get to do the things we love no matter what. No matter what!

 

I’m sure us die hard fans of baseball can agree on one thing. We will do whatever it takes to get back on that field. I will wear a mask if I have to at the plate and if we don’t shake hands after the games then so be it. I love to see the fans in the stands, but at this point I don’t think anyone cares just as long as we play.

 

The Penn-Ohio football game just got canceled. So now along with baseball taking a hard hit, the football players that have worked their whole lives to earn all-star bids like this are deprived of yet another perk that they earned! I think it’s time we as states and as a country take a step back and see this for all that it’s doing. We don’t know what would have taken place if we didn’t “social distance.” What we do know is that each and every senior’s hard-earned rewards are no longer important in some eyes. And kids are also going to begin thinking that something that can be taken away so easily maybe doesn’t deserve all of their time and effort. We flipped the switch off so easily and everyone is waiting for that switch to be flipped back on. I feel terrible for the basketball players who got their state tournament taken away. Imagine the scenes at their households that night. Imagine the look in their eyes when they realized all that they worked for got taken away. Can we think about that before we make decisions in this near future?

 

Lastly, opinions have been voiced about how a three-week return to school isn’t worth it. If you believe this then you must not be in high school or have kids in high school that are dying to finish the year right. So yes three weeks of school is important and I hope at the beginning of May at the latest that hope is restored. I love the game of baseball and all of the relationships it’s built for me. Without baseball, I wouldn’t be who I am today.

 

So tell me that taking all of this away is what’s best for us?  God bless!

 

*It should be noted that I was reluctant at first to write this because I have not yet lost hope for our season. And I hope the people in charge haven’t either!

 

Sincerely,

 

 

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: JENNA RICCARDO

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By Jenna Riccardo

 

For the last four years, I have watched as the seniors walked through our school for the last time during their senior walk. There was always a mix of emotions shown on their faces. Some shed tears because it was over, others celebrated because it was the start of the next chapter of their lives. Watching this each year, I was uncertain of how I would feel when it was my turn. I soon found that I couldn’t wait for my senior year of high school to arrive so that I could celebrate my hard work and begin to move on with the next chapter of my life. 

Finally, the time arrived. Our senior year started as expected and we made memories at football and basketball games, wrestling matches, and homecoming dances. These are all memories that we will be able to look back on, but as senior year comes to an end, we were anxiously awaiting prom, our senior trip, and graduation. However, on March 12th we learned that our year would not continue as we had envisioned. Instead, we left the school without knowing if we would return and finish making the memories we had anticipated. This year was supposed to be about the celebration of the class of 2020, a year to remember all the hard work that we have put into schooling for the past thirteen years, but instead of getting our senior walk, we left our school with the year cut short. 

Missing out on events such as prom and our senior trip is not as devastating to me as it may be to other high school seniors. Personally, I am thankful that I was able to complete my senior basketball season, as this was most important to me. While I am saddened that the All-Star games I was selected to play in have all been canceled, my heart hurts for those who were not able to complete their postseason in the winter state tournaments or compete in a spring sport. I could never imagine not finishing the last season of my high school career. 

Although all of these things are important to seniors and are considered a right of passage, there are far greater losses than missing out on these events. By canceling or postponing these events, we are saving the lives of millions of people across the United States. While I am saddened by the sudden change of events, I am now more focused on my future and hope that we can return to living our normal lives soon. 

Sitting at home, the days seem to pass by in slow motion. This was not how senior year was supposed to end for the class of 2020. The changes that we have had to undergo are some of the biggest changes many of us have ever faced. I believe that this will make us stronger and be able to overcome any obstacle that we encounter. No matter who you are or what you are missing out on during this time, I think it is most important to be there for the ones you love and support to those around you. 

To the Class of 2020: Remember that this is still our year, it is just ending differently than we had expected. Wherever your path may lead you, hold on to the memories you’ve made and make the best of the situation that we are in. 

 

Love,