The Class of 2020
by Savannah Cress
It has been 4.5 weeks since schools have physically been in session where I live. That’s 4.5 weeks of attempting to work at home while in the company of both of my kids. And though it feels like 4.5 weeks of overseeing virtual school for my 3rd grader, really they just formally started that three days ago; It has been an extremely long three days. My daily routine, like that of many around the globe, has drastically changed. Admittedly, I haven’t embraced it as “my routine” yet. That’s probably Step #1 to regaining sanity.
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I recognize that, in the big picture, my discontentment with the new “normal” is infinitesimal. However, in the smaller picture of my general mental well-being, the struggle is real. Optimism and positive thoughts are sometimes hard to come by. And am I the only one who gets an eerie Handmaid’s Tale vibe while watching the masked faces silently walk by as I compliantly wait on the X’s outside the grocery store for my turn to enter? I think it may be time to succumb to that $8 delivery fee and just order groceries online.
As routines are forced to change all over the world, people are affected in different ways, to different degrees, and on different levels. This is partially due to the nature of an individual’s previous lifestyle — his or her perception of “normal life,” or life pre-coronavirus. Some welcome a change of pace, others feel extremely isolated and anxious, and of course, there are varying levels of feeling between those two. One group of routine-change-endurers that has been on my mind lately is the Class of 2020. What an end to one’s school career. I can imagine the disappointment for many. The last few months with high school friends cut short, Senior Prom — cancelled, Spring Break– sure, within the confines of your house. The final season of Spring sports — on hold for… indefinitely? That is intense. By the same token, athletes competing in higher-level leagues — college sports, professional, Olympic — all of these were forced to a screeching halt sometime in March, when outdoor track was really just gearing up. Talk about a disappointing start to the season.
Apex High School, in Apex, North Carolina, held just one track practice before the ban on school activities kicked in. Hurdle coach Roy Cooper took that practice to resourcefully prepare for the possible social distancing restrictions that had started in other areas. He brought in masses of PVC pipes, and his team spent the practice building makeshift hurdles to take home, just in case. Soon thereafter, the “just in case” became reality as schools, and all associated activities in the area, were closed. Apex High hurdler Brian Poirier, who had been on the heels of his school’s 300-meter hurdle record when events were called off, voiced his disappointment. “This is my senior season; I was pretty excited. I had big personal goals as well as team goals.” With the opportunity to realize those goals in limbo, Poirier hopes to maintain his form as best he can by using the PVC hurdles and doing the workouts Coach Cooper sends his team weekly. [1]
The wake-up call for many that this whole COVID-19 situation was serious came on March 12, when the NCAA put out a statement canceling the remaining 2020 basketball tournaments. In this same statement, it was announced that the remaining winter, and all of spring season, championships were canceled. The indoor track and field championships were supposed to start the very next day. Less than 2% of NCAA athletes continue on to compete in their chosen sport on a professional level. This leaves a huge percentage of collegiate track participants learning, very suddenly, that they have run their last race without even knowing it at the time. I imagine this comes as a slap in the face after putting in years of hard work and dedication to a sport.
Allison Wahrman, a senior on the University of Iowa track team, had an understandably difficult time processing the news that her final season had abruptly ended. She had an even more difficult time accepting it and ultimately decided not to. Wahrman created a petition to grant senior athletes an additional year of eligibility in their sport and sent it to teammates and friends. The petition quickly flooded through the gates of Iowa and onto campuses country-wide, gaining more than 150,000 signatures. Athletic directors and coaches across America had similar thoughts about their seniors’ final seasons being jeopardized. University of Connecticut basketball coach Geno Auriemma voiced the prospect of recompensed eligibility for seniors in an interview that was aired on ESPN saying “It’s an unprecedented event. So you have to take unprecedented measures.” [2] [3] [4]
Another repercussion from this “unprecedented event” is the postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games to 2021. Not only does this mess up the clean, even-year Olympic tradition, but it also wreaks havoc on the lives of the 6,000 competitors who had already qualified for the games, as well as those who were working toward qualification in the remaining seasons prior. To the relief of T-shirt makers worldwide, though the games will now be held in 2021, the official title (and logo) will still read “Tokyo 2020.” As far as the athletes, many of their training plans were crafted with the 4-year Olympic cycle taken into consideration. Many training programs set to peak this July will have to be significantly reworked. And what does this do to the qualification process? Will those who claimed the 57% of Olympic spots that had been filled automatically qualify for 2021? I would hate to think of athletes having worked to attain qualifying status losing it due to postponement; but at the same time, a lot can change in a year. Furthermore, the complexity of adapting sports calendars globally to work with the timing of the rescheduled Games makes my head spin faster than 3rd grade common core math. [5] [6]
Gabriele Cunningham, who set three school records in the 100m hurdles her senior year at North Carolina State University, has continued to train post-graduation in hopes of qualifying for the 2020 Olympics. Upon hearing news of the event’s postponement, Cunningham worked through her initial disappointment to find a silver lining. Embracing the new twist to her journey, she states, “I kind of just looked at it as more time to perfect things and do what I needed to do with my training.” While her positive outlook helps, like athletes on every level of competition, Cunningham still faces logistical challenges presented by the spread of Coronavirus. Much like the hurdlers at Apex High, she has gotten resourceful while her usual training facilities are closed, using random heavy objects around her house to lift while without access to a weight room. Cunningham wisely attributes her still-positive attitude regarding these challenges to looking at the big picture in life. “We love to compete — that’s why a lot of us do it. But we have to think about how a health crisis like this would not only affect us, but (how) it would affect fans also. And so, taking a step back, removing ourselves from it and thinking about it in a bigger picture is the best way to go about it.” [7]
Picking up on Cunningham’s optimism, I have found many things of which to remind myself when I am ready to pull my hair out after looking at the clock and realizing that it’s only 10am. I am extremely fortunate to have a job that can be performed remotely, to still have a paycheck coming in, to not have childcare concerns during this time when so many options are closed. Despite the persistent feeling of professional failure from trying to work while also assuming the roles of school teacher, short-order cook, acro dance spotter, motivational speaker, IT department, and not letting the house get completely buried in laundry while all this is going on, I do appreciate the slight reduction in logistical pace. I haven’t had to rush anybody out the door to the car in 4.5 weeks. School is at home. Non-emergency appointments have been cancelled. Dance, which between the 2 girls usually involves three different studios multiple days a week, now takes place on the lower floor of our split-level home. Due to lack of other options, occasionally my 15-year-old will even walk around the neighborhood with me. When I take a minute to remind myself of these things, I can usually find a sliver of peace amidst the daily chaos.
[1] https://abc11.com/apex-high-track-and-field-roy-cooper-nchsaa/6050080/
[5]https://www.wsj.com/articles/olympics-in-2021-will-still-be-called-tokyo-2020-games-11585136716
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