Joelle's Journal
By Joelle Gendzel
By Joelle Gendzel
While 2020 has been an incredibly difficult year for everyone, high school seniors have been faced with a set of unique challenges. The lives we will return when things “go back to normal” will be entirely different than the lives we left back in March. High school will be over, many will have moved away from home, and an entirely new phase of our lives will begin. As a senior myself, I feel almost as if I have been robbed of my childhood, at least the end of it. When we are able to go to school and see friends again, I will be an adult. In March, the last time life resembled normality, I was 16.
One beacon of hope for me at least, was the possible opportunity for a return to school. Obviously, any type of return to Pioneer’s campus this academic year would not at all resemble pre-pandemic school, but I had hoped it could bring some type of closure to my senior year. When Santa Clara County moved into the orange tier in October, things seemed to be looking up, at least COVID wise. The district began to release plans for a possible return on Jan. 5. I immediately was ready to jump at the chance. At this point, I would do almost anything to get out of the house.
However, this rosy view of a return to school quickly slipped away. The survey asking for a decision about wanting to go back warned students might have to change schedules, and only a selected few would be chosen to go back. Most of my friends revealed they selected to continue with distance learning. And then, the county moved back into the purple tier. While the final decision won’t be made until Dec. 30, it seems pretty clear no students will be returning to campus on Jan. 5.
Ultimately, I have reconciled with the idea of probably never again walking onto Pioneer’s campus. I never loved high school, but I could really have used these last few months of being a kid.
One beacon of hope for me at least, was the possible opportunity for a return to school. Obviously, any type of return to Pioneer’s campus this academic year would not at all resemble pre-pandemic school, but I had hoped it could bring some type of closure to my senior year. When Santa Clara County moved into the orange tier in October, things seemed to be looking up, at least COVID wise. The district began to release plans for a possible return on Jan. 5. I immediately was ready to jump at the chance. At this point, I would do almost anything to get out of the house.
However, this rosy view of a return to school quickly slipped away. The survey asking for a decision about wanting to go back warned students might have to change schedules, and only a selected few would be chosen to go back. Most of my friends revealed they selected to continue with distance learning. And then, the county moved back into the purple tier. While the final decision won’t be made until Dec. 30, it seems pretty clear no students will be returning to campus on Jan. 5.
Ultimately, I have reconciled with the idea of probably never again walking onto Pioneer’s campus. I never loved high school, but I could really have used these last few months of being a kid.