As my senior year is coming to an end, hearing the news that administration would allow us to have a normal graduation, I felt overjoyed. I am glad knowing that I have been given the opportunity to graduate with my classmates in the stadium. 

When Governor Tim Walz announced May 15 that COVID-19 restrictions would start to ease up, I started feeling a sense of hope for myself and classmates. In the guidance overview, it states that there will be no maximum group size for outdoor social gathering. That means we could hold our graduation outdoors without having to limit the number of guests. 

The school has adjusted the restrictions and are now allowing eight tickets per graduate. This is pretty significant for me, since I can invite all four of my family members to go now without having to worry. Whereas if it would have been only two tickets per senior, then I would have only been able to invite two of my four family members, which would have been a hard decision. To many seniors this might give them a sense of normalcy for a special event to have all their family and friends there. 

To many seniors this year hasn’t been at all what we probably imagined our senior year to be. A lot of events that we would have liked to be done normally have been changed. It makes me sad knowing that I had to spend almost all of my senior year not being able to interact with friends more at school in-person due to virtual learning. But now with the graduation being held in the stadium and about three thousand guests allowed to come in to watch this special event, I’m glad I can finish it off with my classmates. 

Although as of right now there are only about 44 percent people vaccinated in Minnesota, we still have a long way to go until we can be safe of COVID-19. We should continue doing our part in wearing our masks and social distancing. It’s recommended that people should get vaccinated as soon as possible. Seniors should remain cautious and if not fully vaccinated, should be practicing COVID-19 guidelines so that you will be able to participate in graduation. 

This year hasn’t been a normal senior year at all, but I look forward to bidding farewell with a normal graduation with my classmates and a crowd cheering us on.