Kate Livingston

The college that I will be attending in the fall is Grand Valley State University

I will major in nursing with a minor in Spanish

This unconventional situation has taught me many things. The most important thing I’d say it has taught me, though, is that nothing in life is guaranteed. You can make plans and have everything under control and then life will happen and those plans will be derailed. I speak for most seniors when I say that we had the next couple of months planned out: finish up our last semester of high school, go to prom, walk the stage at graduation, celebrate being a graduate, and spend the summer with our friends before we all go our separate ways. However, life happened and now we won’t get to experience most of these things which is very saddening.

Experiencing this unusual time has taught me another thing as well: don’t take anything for granted. As cliché as this sounds, it very much applies to this situation. Before all of this began, I took being healthy and active for granted. I also took my family’s health for granted. Now seeing what others have been going through, it’s such a blessing that myself and my three other family members, as well as extended family, are all safe and healthy. While some may say being stuck at home isn’t the best, I always try to put a positive spin on things. One thing I was very worried about before going over a 1,000 miles away in the fall was that I wasn’t going to spend enough time with my family. Being stuck at home has given me the chance to spend time with them and bond with them a little extra before I go so far away and I am very grateful. In the end, it’s important that we all know that we’re all going through this together. It’s also important to find things that keep you busy and happy such as exercising, watching Netflix, hanging out with your family, or facetiming your friends. Storms can’t last forever so while we’re all in the middle of what seems like a never ending storm, we need to stay strong and support each other.