Personally, I am extremely upset about the time away from school. Due to Covid-19, I am being deprived of an awesome senior year. Prom was cancelled as well as the Spring Musical. I also have to Celebrate my 18th Birthday under this “quarantine”. I wish that we could honestly have things go back to normal very quickly. It could be worse for me and I am thankful it isn’t. However, that doesn’t keep me from wishing everything was back to normal and we all could go back to our normal lives. I am enjoying the time with friends and family via video chatting and such, but of course I just want to be able to see them and hang out. This difficult time can teach us something: Don’t take anything for granted. Luckily, I have also been able to use this time to plan for my future as I get ready to attend college. 

-Senior Marquis Vasquez

I’m not going to lie, I have many thoughts about being away from school. It’s scary to think about the seriousness of the deadly COVID-19 virus. There is so much unknown because of it. It’s sad to think that my sophomore year is over and I won’t be returning to school until August. I never got to properly say goodbye to my teachers, my classmates, and most importantly, the seniors. It’s crazy to think that SO many high school students WANT to be at school. It’s unfortunate that I can’t continue my normal schedule and live a regular teenage life. I miss my friends and daily/weekly routines more than anything. It’s so sad to see people losing so many things that mean so much to them. It’s heartbreaking to see pictures and hear stories from healthcare workers who are working tirelessly to protect us. However, I’m doing my best to remain positive and hopeful. It’s enjoyable that I get to spend so much time with my family before my brother goes off to college. It’s heartwarming to see our communities and our nation coming together to support each other. It’s relaxing to be given time to work on myself, be productive, and create good habits that will hopefully last beyond the quarantine. It’s amazing that we have the access to technology that allows us to continue attending workouts and church, and even continue our social lives and education. I’m thankful for the opportunities and experiences I had before the COVID-19 outbreak happened. There’s so much I missed out on, but still so much that I can be grateful for. I am hopeful that we will all be better people because of this virus. I am hopeful that our families will be restored and that everyone will experience growth in many areas of their life. If there’s one thing I learned during this quarantine, it’s that you can’t choose your circumstances, but you can always choose your perspective. 

-Sophomore Kennedy Smith

This time away from school has been bittersweet. I have loved spending time with my family, whether that’s through (attempts at) baking, card games full of laughter, or movies full of tears, it has been something much needed because of our previously busy schedules. However, getting to see my friends and teachers daily became something that I was deprived of very quickly, and something I most definitely took for granted. Even though I could easily spend these days in a melancholy manner, I have chosen to be reminiscent of all of my fond memories of high school, small or large. I have chosen to remember the friendly encounters I had with new faces in the hallways, even if it was just a smile. I have chosen to remember lunch table laughter with my close friends, where we all wiped tears from our eyes and clutched at our stomachs at the most minute of jokes. I have chosen to remember the school dances I did get to attend, and the excitement of picking out a dress, getting ready, and walking through those cafeteria doors. I have chosen to remember the pep rallies, where the excitement of being a Wampus Cat was not only found, but exuberated. Most importantly, I have chosen to remember that even though my time as a senior at Conway High was shortened, my joyful memories will forever remain; it all just comes with a choice to remember them.

-Senior Emma Schluterman

Once I heard about us going back to school on March 30th, I was okay with it. Then it moved to April 20th, I didn’t feel good about it. Then yesterday I heard we won’t be going back,I was disappointed. Why? Well I wont see my friends, it’s hard for me to work out, eating, and lack of sleep. I feel bad for the seniors who couldn’t attend graduation, seniors who are in athletics, and 11th and 12th who couldn’t go to prom. I’m glad I am home though and working here because I can watch Youtube or Netflix. I wouldn’t say i’m mad because we aren’t going to school because I know they’re doing it for health reasons. I hope things can be back to normal soon and that school will be normal for my 11th grade year.     

-Sophomore Brady Myers

Honestly I like having all this free time away from school and spending some time with my family, but I also miss the teachers. I wish this never happened but i’m pretty confident this will end pretty soon. I’m really upset about the graduation though and I want to go and walk on the stage. So many students worked hard for that but now we are stuck at home. 

-Senior Akil Herbert

Is it weird that I’m somewhat enjoying this time social distancing?  This year has been very stressful as far as the stress not only put on by others but by myself. Right now doing work at home is allowing me to work at my own pace and focus on what I need to focus on. I’m not really frustrated about prom being canceled because I was going to miss for a dance competition anyways. However, I’m beginning to worry about college. How will this affect ACT test scores? How harsh are they going to be viewing our AP exam scores? That’s really all that is worry me at this time. And while these times stressful while stuck with my family it’s reminded me of being a kid and doing weird things all together, simply because we’re bored.  I’m very lucky to have a helping and understanding family that knows me and my siblings have a lot of questions that no one knows the answer to, but we’ve had great support throughout this whole time. 

-Junior Hannah Gordon

Ever since this crisis started I wasn’t taking it seriously at first but now since we are out of school I decided to take it seriously now. Although I’m happy to be out of school, there’s this sadness in me due to the Seniors not being able to experience their Senior year. Don’t get me wrong I’ll rather be at home than at school because I’m in my comfort zone. The only thing I really hate is getting on zoom; it just gives me bad vibes for the rest of the day. Due to these few weeks of being out of school it gave me an opportunity to catch up with my dad’s side since he died a few years back. But also due to this crisis I am really tired of looking at my sister so I decided to pick up a few new hobbies. The sad part of missing school is that I really didn’t experience a Sophomore year but I try not to think about that. So instead I just think about how the Seniors feel and keep them in my prayers . 

-Sophomore Sierra Earnest

Personally I have mixed feelings about this whole situation. Yes I do love getting to stay home and visit with my family and I love this opportunity to do that. But on the other hand I do miss my normal routine, going to school getting to see my friends and teachers who I love dearly. It’s just you don’t realize how lucky you are and how much you miss something until it’s taken away from you.I know all of us have to take emergency measures,like stay in our houses away from everyone and we have to stay isolated as we can. Hopefully we can get back to our normal routine. Yes it’s sad that the rest of this school year is cancelled. But hopefully this all goes away soon and we can get back to our normal lives. 

-Sophomore Cassie Whatley

I truly don’t like being away from school at all. School is an environment that I can be less distracted in than in my house; a place to where I actually have any motivation at all to work. I’m not necessarily sad to miss this prom since I went last year and also this is just my junior year. I’m not worried about graduation since I’m a junior; however this whole online school has me worrying I might not pass a class for this year. It’s always funny when I tell people I like school because they look at me like I’m crazy, but the truth is, that’s where all my friends are and I love to talk to them. I also got lucky with the most amazing teachers this year, so it sucks that the year has been cut short. I say school is my family; my family is at school. This whole distancing thing is just not fun. I’ve found other ways to cope though, and I’m actually doing fine, but like one of my friends from a different country- a foreign exchange student- had to get sent back to her country because of this whole coronavirus thing. I just don’t know how homeschoolers do online school, I don’t get it.

-Junior Rayna Van Keuren

Being away from school has been very sad for me in some aspects, because I just changed schools, was beginning to love school for the first time, and I miss getting to see my friends. However, I have enjoyed the break and being able to relax with my family. I am very thankful for new experiences that Conway High was bringing me, and am disappointed that it ended so quickly, but I do not regret moving at all. This crazy break has been interesting seeing how everyone’s perspective has changed, such as when you go to the store and people are not as friendly and just focused on themselves. I think there have also been many positives to come from this pandemic, such as families bonding more, people going out to exercise, the raised awareness for health, and pets getting more attention!

-Sophomore River Ferrari

Ever since I was little, I was ready to be in the graduating class of 2020. I remember planning for it year after year after year. The one thing that changed was the color of my gown. I’d watch movies about teens getting ready to graduate and dealing with the struggles of going into adulthood, ready for the day I too got to throw my cap in the air while hugging my friends. But now, all that might not happen. I might not get my special day. I might not get to shake the principal’s hand and woah off stage. I might not get to give my best friend on last brofist as we walk out the Verizon Arena as Conway High School graduates. 2020 was supposed to be our year, but it’s being put on hold by something no one can really control. It makes you wonder what we will do about it. Will the schools simply put our diplomas in the mail and call it done? Will we get our money back for our caps and gowns? Will they make us simply go back to school and try again next year? One thing’s for sure, this won’t be your average graduation. 

-Senior Diamond Alexander

I feel that this virus hasn’t affected me as much as it could be affecting others. I do miss my friends that I only got to see at school, but I’d rather them safely inside than risking getting sick by going to school. I love the extra time with my dad, but I miss my other family members a lot. We all used to get together every weekend to have lunch or dinner and just relax after a chaotic week. The biggest thing that this virus has affected, besides not being able to see my family, is my routine. I am a very routine person. When the school board cancelled school for the rest of the year, I lost my sense of routine; however, I have been able to secure a babysitting job that keeps me on a routine. Because of these reasons, I feel that I am not greatly affected by this virus. 

-Junior Emily Dunlap