Was Senior Sunrise Worth the Wait?

Seniors share their thoughts about Senior Sunrise during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abigail Manalese

Staff Writer

     “Senior sunrise was important to me because I was able to get to be a part of a senior tradition after months of not having any. I had a movie night with my friends before so I stayed up the whole night and left my house at 5:30AM. I went to go get donuts before and socially distanced at Forest Park to watch the sunrise! It was extremely worth it because meeting my friends for the first time in months and getting to do something semi-normal was very fun.” Shreya Patil (12)

     “Senior sunrise wasn’t that important of an event for me because even though it is a tradition, I didn’t think it would be as normal as the event was made out to be. It would only feel real if we were at American, and since it wasn’t safe for the entire senior class to be there I chose to stay at home. I think the experience was absolutely worth it. I haven’t been alone with my thoughts in such a long time and I felt great after the fact. I think everyone should wake up to see the sunrise once a week to start off the day with a smile.” Sakshee Parekh (12)

     “I loved how senior sunrise helped us experience a senior tradition even though things were really different this year. Even though we couldn’t enjoy it as a whole class, being able to see at least some of my friends was totally worth it!” Aarthi Kannan (12)

     “My friends and I met up at American at 6:30. I brought donuts and someone else brought Starbucks so it was really fun catching up with them after such a long time. Although we text, talking in person is just a lot more fun and memorable. Ultimately, I think that senior sunrise went well considering the circumstances at hand, but I do wish that the entire class could have been together like how it is supposed to be.” Azaan Sharif (12)

     “I went with friends at 4:30. We got to Forest Park. Shreya and I went to Krispy Kreme and Starbucks. We pulled an all-nighter and didn’t sleep until the next day. I was so dead when I got home. It was definitely worth it, it was super fun and we were all excited for it especially after it was cancelled before.” Qasim Benamira-Dod (12)

     “I was just glad that [senior sunrise] existed and it was something we could do. It’s really just about being there with your friends, and in that capacity, it definitely was the best it could be. I told myself I would be doing literally everything I could senior year. I wanted to do all the possible senior experiences, so I was definitely glad that I could still be there.” Elena Fu (12)