Wrapped in a wave of uncertainty, Greer students pull themselves by their bootstraps for an unprecedented school year.  March almost feels like yesterday as the first semester of the 2020-2021 school year rolls in with new students, new teachers, and of course, face masks.  It seems that this school year, above all else, has been a hot political topic among everyone in America.  Despite whatever your opinion may be on COVID-19 regulations, we all still have to go to school (whether in-person or online), and this school year does not have to be entirely disconnected and low energy even with the precautions.

My first day of school was completely different from the previous years.  Gray overcast looming over the square parameters of the brick building welcomed me to my final first day of high school. It is obvious in the faces of students that the usual energy of our high school has tapered off.  This may be due to the zombification of quarantine.  However, there is a unique type of hope I find in the faces of my peers underneath the face masks.

We may not have pep rallies or many upcoming events, but it is still a new school year with a new realm of possibilities.  Here are some positives to this special school year:

• Think of how comfortable home learning can be.  Online lectures may not feel as engaging or nearly as interesting, but they are still lectures in your own home.  You can throw on pajamas and lay in bed, and suddenly school is miles better than the regular hour and a half in those cold, rigid blue chairs
• The academic resources.  In an online class, things are much more fluid.  For instance, if your teacher mentions a side piece of information you may find interesting, you can pull up a new tab and look it up straight away (but be sure to keep your attention on your teacher).  On top of this, studying becomes much easier.  We all think in different ways, and there is nothing more frustrating to me than having a concept explained to me for an hour and a half and still not understand it.  Now, you have a wealth of information at your disposal.  Other than teachers, math students’ second biggest  MVP is Salman Khan.
• Smaller class size and individual attention.  As an IB student, I can testify that smaller class sizes and more individual attention is the best way to fix mistakes and better understand topics.  One-on-one time really is the best way to review, and I am sure that at least some of us have at least one in-person class with only one student.

Like everything in school, this year is what you make of it.  This year does not have to necessarily be a larger struggle than school already is, think of it as a lesson in time management.  We are all studying in the comfort of our own homes and are all as vulnerable to distractions as we were in the summer.  The same is true in college or even having a job.  When we are at home, nothing is stopping us from missing our google meets, forgetting to do our assignments (which also mark attendance) and falling behind.  With this in mind, think of how after high school almost every night a party is held, or there is always something else to do other than going to bed for work or class the next morning.  It is a fact of life that we all have to overcome — the sooner the better.

These are all unprecedented times, and are vastly different from how any of us imagined this year would go six months ago.  However, I am confident that with a positive attitude and making the best out of the struggles this year presents, we can still have a great school year, just a little different from the ones before.