It’s no secret that this school year has been a challenge for students, teachers and school administrators across the world. Just when life throws you one curveball, another one is coming. This has been the story of my senior year so far.

On Thursday, January 7, I was with my friends at Xhilaration show choir practice. What started as a normal practice ended with news that I saw coming but never emotionally prepared for. We learned that we were not going to compete in-person were going to compete in only two competitions virtually. 

After practice, everyone left and many appeared to be happy that we could still compete virtually. This was not the case for me. I left practice on the verge of tears. All I could think about was every amazing experience that previous senior classes got to have in show choir that I will never get to experience myself. 

Bouncing back from this news has been tough. My whole life has been spent at show choir and dance competitions. I have watched my sisters compete in show choir since I was four years old. I have competed in dance competitions since I was 10 years old, and started my own show choir journey in sixth grade at Regis. It was hard to come to grips with not being able to compete in person for my senior year in Xhilaration. Even though I do get to have an in-person competition experience in dance this season, it is hard to not have the same for show choir.

You never know why things like this happen. There’s so many unexpected things that happen in people’s lives and a lot of those examples are worse than missing out on a competition season for show choir. I quickly told myself that I need to be grateful I am healthy because there are far too many individuals who have died from COVID-19. There are people who have it far worse than me. It has reminded me to hold on to the things I love because they can be taken away at any given moment. It has reminded me to never take anything for granted, especially something I am truly passionate about.

One major thing I have done is  count my blessings. I am still able to be in school, I am healthy, my friends and family are healthy, I can still attend show choir and dance practices and I still get to compete in dance this year, even though competitions have modified their performance schedules. That is something we all need to do this year. Any time you get a little bit of normalcy, cherish it. Enjoy all those moments and let them help you have hope and joy in your life. When life throws you a curveball, it’s not about how fast it’s coming at you, it’s about how you hit back. You can let it overtake you or you can take it and make it positive. Everything that is meant to be will happen.