By Zaida Govan (Reprinted from July, 2021)

I am in awe of the graduations that are happening this time of year this year. The last year has been challenging for all of us so I can’t even imagine what it has been like for those who have been in school this past year. I think of the children, like my granddaughter in kindergarten, and how they sat in front of a computer all year “in school”. I think of the teachers who answered their questions, “Miss Matei, I have a question!! I slept in my school clothes last night.” Miss Matei must be exasperated (with all the statements that are posed as questions so they could talk) but tells her nicely, “Nyeemah, that’s not a question.”
Children, and actually everyone, craves socialization. This year has been “socially distanced” and they truly have been socially distanced. How did the college students do it? No parties, no get togethers, no in person learning. This year we didn’t see the prom pictures, the skip day pictures, it was ALL missing. I am so proud of the class of 2021 because they got through this year while most still maintained their GPA, passing almost all the tests, writing almost all of their papers, learning their ABC’s.
I felt for the parents who suddenly became teacher assistants. Some parents did a better job than others and that is not a judgment. How are you supposed to assist three different teachers in three different grades and work your job, and do everything else? This is why I am in awe of the class of 2021. I feel that teachers, parents and students achieved these accomplishments this year more than in years past.
We know that teachers work hard every year helping the kids. We know parents are there for them when they can be and, of course, the students do the work. This year, however, they all excelled. Even the ones who “stayed back” or didn’t do as well as they wanted to. I would like to follow these students and see where they land in 10 years. I predict that they will be far ahead of where we might think they would be because of overcoming this pandemic year. They are resilient. They know they don’t need socialization even though we want it. Very much do we want socialization. And we actually do need it, for our mental health.
These young people figured out a way to be social even though they weren’t in person. This is an amazing cohort of graduates and I can’t wait to see how they change the world! Go out and be great! Be the light we all need. Congratulations to all of you! From getting out of kindergarten, Congratulations Nyeemah!! To graduating from college, Congratulations, Brianna!!! Congratulations to all of us for getting through this past year. ■