The End?

The End?

Yazmin Cruz stands in her front garden, facing away from the camera, as her sister takes a photograph of her graduation cap. Although the camera is not on her face, she is still smiling at the idea of being a high school graduate. Like many other schools, her 2020 commencement was virtual, but she wanted to celebrate as she would have before the pandemic. Her goal on her graduation day was to stay positive. She said, "With prom, graduation, and senior events canceled, it truly took a toll on my mindset. There were moments of sadness during the pandemic because I felt that there was so much more I wanted to accomplish in high school. Although my graduation cap symbolizes the completion of high school, I still felt that the chapter did not end." Cruz explained that her graduation cap, at that moment, reminded her to stay in the present and to not dwell on what she had lost but to appreciate what she had learned.

Stephanie Cruz

June 4, 2020

Jamee N. Pritchard