Six feet apart. The social distance required between two people in order to stay healthy. But that’s easy right? People already sit six feet away from each other and don’t  interact at all. 

In this day and age, we so often forget the importance of human interaction. As teenagers, many of us never valued the importance of social interaction until everyone became totally deprived of it. COVID-19 has become the bane of our existence, and no one ever thought that we would have to completely alienate ourselves from society. 

However, I think everyone has a newly discovered appreciation for human interaction. I believe this has done our world and our society a favor. Many people  never realized the importance of a handshake, a hug or a kiss because these were things that we could always do without needing permission from anyone. But now, all of the things that connect us on a physical level have been stripped away. 

As much as everyone  depends on technology, we are even more dependent on one another — no matter how much we want to do  things alone. All teenagers want to be independent. Self-reliant but irresponsibly kidlike at the same time. Right? However, independence seems to be the last thing everyone is thinking about right now. This time has given us teens an opportunity to look back and really appreciate all of our experiences. All of the tedious school days and simple conversations amongst friends are greatly desired at a time like this.

This has brought everyone, not only in the Mid-Pacific community, but the whole world, together to fight this pandemic. Everyone greatly sympathizes with the class of 2020 and is trying our very best to make it memorable for what is left of their senior year. 

To the class of 2020: the class whose year was cut short, I hope you can find optimism through all of this and  also realize the importance of the friends you were hoping to see for the next few months before you begin the newest chapter of your life. I hope that after everything winds down, you will be able to continue where you left off and finish the most memorable year of high school. 

For the rest of us, I hope this social isolation has opened our eyes to the importance of one another. I hope we have a newfound appreciation for the simple things that we often took for granted. So, after this is all over, go out. Have fun. See all your friends and cherish the little things. 

We need each other more than ever, and now we know we always will.