A letter to seniors from Caitlin Goette
My heart aches for you. I sit here nearly a year after graduating, and I still remember exactly how I felt at this time last year. The excitement of soon beginning a new chapter of my life filled me: a new journey, a new place, new people. But it also scared me. I was about to leave all I had ever known—where did the time go?
I am sad that you will not get to experience the last few weeks walking through the halls you know so well, a walk that you could easily do with your eyes closed. I am sad that you may not get to experience your last prom, getting all fancied up with your favorite people, dancing away the night and laughing into the morning hours. I am sad that your final sports season was taken from you, before you even got a real chance to begin it. That you won’t get to experience the feeling of putting on that jersey you know so well and saying to yourself “one last time” as you walk onto the field or track. I am sad that you don’t get to experience the adrenaline of finishing all of your final high school assignments and then spending those last days of your classes simply reminiscing on your time in those rooms.
Most of all, I’m sorry that you don’t get to share these last few weeks all together, next to those you grew up beside. Some of them you may have spoken little to, some were your “classmate buddies,” and some were your closest friends—all a part of a huge dysfunctional family. You may not have always gotten along, but the bond of the class always remained. My biggest hope for you is that you will still be able to all sit together in those chairs in your caps and gowns, the last time you will all be together, as you celebrate all of your memories and accomplishments.
I want you to know that, as a member of the class of 2019, I grieve for you. These coming weeks were meant to be some of the most crazy and memorable of your lives, but they’ve been interrupted by something no one could have predicted. But mostly I want you to know that you will be okay. That, although your senior year is finishing in a much different way than you expected, you still did it: Everyone is still proud of you. Your next chapter still awaits, and I know you’ll make the most out of it.
Love,
Caitlin Goette, 2019 senior