In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, life for many students has changed drastically as classes have shifted online to accommodate for social distancing and safety. For high school seniors especially, the cancellation of school may be even more bittersweet due to the impacts it has had on senior traditions such as commitment day, senior sports events, and final memories in class.  

“While in context sports are not the most important thing right now, losing the opportunity to compete and be a part of a community of friends, peers, and motivated athletes for the final time in high school is nonetheless difficult. I was looking forward to one last shot at a team County Championship and trying to make a run in the individual doubles tournament,” said senior Michael P.  

A common sentiment among graduating seniors is the feeling of lack of closure and satisfaction. 

“Disappointed is an understatement for how I’m feeling right now. After twelve seasons of track I was excited to have a senior meet and a chance to get to say goodbye. I will never get that. I had to say goodbye to a huge aspect of my life before I was ready to,” said senior Elizabeth D.  

A significant event that seniors missed out on due to COVID-19 is commitment day on May 1, the day in which seniors wear the shirts of their colleges that they’ve committed to. Because students were not in school for commitment day, some students have created ways to celebrate seniors and their future plans online.    

“I thought about how every year the pennants line the main hallway, decorated with signatures of the seniors committed there, and came up with the idea to create a website where students could virtually sign the pennants and see where their peers would be going. I wanted to make our senior year as close to what it should’ve been and give seniors hope in these difficult times,” said senior Sydney L.  

The website, mackcommits.com, has over 100 completed pennants and 300 signatures from seniors who have committed to college.  

“I brought my idea to my friend Jacob, who I enlisted to help write the code for the styling and functionality of the website. I create the pennants in Adobe Illustrator, first researching each college to see if it already has a pennant, and then either recreating or designing my own by adding logos, text, and other graphic elements to design the final pennant. We work together to add the students and colleges inputted on the Google Form and additional features that students request,” said Sydney L. 

In addition to the pennant website, an Instagram account has been made that honors seniors and their future plans.   

“I follow some students from other states that committed to the same college as me and they posted about commitment accounts for their schools and I thought it was a really nice idea of honoring the seniors. The Instagram page (@commack2020commit) honors seniors and is an opportunity for every student to get recognized for their future endeavors with whatever college or career path they are pursuing after we graduate,” said senior Lawrence M. 

The website and the Instagram account aim to give seniors hope and encouragement in this difficult time. Students are also trying to make the best of the situation by themselves at home by practicing self-care and good habits.  

“This situation can easily become overwhelming when thinking about what cannot be controlled and all of the opportunities lost. To combat this, I have taken the approach of just focusing on what I can control–my health, emotions, family, fitness, schoolwork, and music–and this helps keep a sense of positivity,” said Michael P.  

Another prominent feeling by seniors is a feeling of lack of closure. 

“I’m looking for closure anywhere I can get. I plan on emailing my coaches and teammates and asking them to write messages I can print out and tape into my yearbook because I can’t get signatures,” said Elizabeth D. 

The time spent at home currently is also giving seniors time to reflect over their past four years at Commack High School.  

“I personally regret not getting involved in more school events. I took it for granted since I thought we would get to be involved as seniors, but now everything is canceled,” said Lawrence M. 

The situation has made seniors appreciative of school and their memories associated with school events. 

“I don’t regret much, but I wish I had cherished being in school more. You would always hear people say ‘I want to go home’ but now we realize that we took school for granted. I would have never thought that I would hear so many seniors say, ‘I want to go back to school’,” said senior Emma A.  🔳