Written by: Ayden Waldron - DHS Senior Student
High school is a crazy experience in itself. Adding a global pandemic on top of it has definitely made it interesting. This year has been a rollercoaster. When the school year started in August, I was quarantined due to an exposure to COVID-19, forcing me to do school online for about two weeks. Then, when I did go back, the district was on a hybrid schedule, so I went to school on Tuesday, Thursday, and every other Friday for the first five months of the school year. Then on my 18th Birthday, my family and I got COVID-19, and I was again quarantined for two weeks.
In those first five months, it almost felt like I wasn’t even going to school. I didn’t get to see all of my friends, do regular activities, or even have a homecoming dance. In December I was in the DHS production of Game of Tiara’s as the role of Ellie. I have been in theater since my freshmen year, but that play was a totally different experience. We had to wear masks while performing on stage, and for the first time at DHS, the play was live-streamed, which was really nice because it allowed my family that didn’t live here to watch the play!
At the start of the third quarter, the district voted to go back to full-time school. In all honesty, after months of being on the hybrid schedule, I didn’t entirely want to go back full-time. Because of the hybrid schedule, I was able to work on the days I wasn’t at school, and it was nice to have a break every other day. I know many of my peers felt the same. But, as soon as we started going full-time, I loved it! School was easier, I got to see all my friends again, and things just seemed more positive because life was starting to get back to normal (of course, we still had to wear masks, but by then I barely noticed wearing one).
Around mid-February, everyone wondered if we were going to have prom, especially after it was canceled last year due to the pandemic hitting. Being a part of Student Council, I was one of the first to find out that prom was happening! And once the news broke to the rest of the school, everyone was super excited. On March 27th, we had prom. The theme was Ritz and Romance that had a 1920’s feel. There was also after prom, where there were games, food, and prizes! It was an amazing night!
With graduation just around the corner, it still baffles me how fast this year went and just how quickly 18 years of my life have gone by. I would never have imagined that I’d be graduating during a global pandemic, but it has definitely made my senior year even more memorable and something I will never forget!