Dear Class of 2020, 

Congratulations on reaching an important finish line. 

Sorry those final strides went super slo-mo for you. 

It's not supposed to happen like this. For a hundred years, and more, these rites of passage were an expectation. Spring Break. Prom. Track meets. New PRs. Yearbooks. Awards Night.

Commencement, with a stage, not a drive-through. An All-Night Party. 

Your schools did what they could to make you feel special. But many of those things slipped away or took on a truncated, or virtual, form. You missed Penn Relays and the Arcadia Invitational and a thousand other track meets. 

Some of you raced the clock, just for fun. When you couldn't find hurdles, you made them yourself, to stay in the game.

You stayed away from your grandparents when, instead, they should have cheered you on at state.

You missed being with your friends, at least in person. 

You spent even more time on your phones, as if that was possible. 

You know someone who got a positive Coronavirus test. Or lost their job because of it. Probably both. 

You know someone who died, or know someone who knows someone who did. 

Thankfully, your demographic was largely free from hospitalization. 

You were already stir crazy when you saw the terrible George Floyd video, or heard about it. It made you angry, as well it should. It's only natural. 

Many of you walked into the streets, made signs, and protested, and are still marching, and risking your health in order cry out for justice and reform. 

You stepped into the fray. Other days. you took some time for yourself. You contemplated your place in the world and what to do next. You concluded that it's difficult to assess, for now.

Class of 2020, nearly all of you came into this world in the middle of a crisis. Those were the post-9/11 days, when World Trade Center dust still hung in the air over lower Manhattan and the country was galvanized by anger and remorse. Your moms and dads were as worried about you then as they are now. 

You received your diplomas in the midst of a new set of crises. 

Remember April? 

You slept in. You dreamed crazy dreams. You were tight with your family. 

You did some homework. You watched Tiger King.

You worked on your dance moves. And learned to play the guitar. And how to cook. And waited for track practice to resume. 

We're all still waiting. 

Summer's here now. You'll make the best of it. That's what you do. 

We missed you this spring but we saw what you were capable of already. Looking at you, Katelyn Tuohy, the greatest of all-time. And Nico Young. And Marlee Starliper. And Justin Robinson. And Katelynne Hart. And Jamar Marshall. And Leah Phillips. And Micah Williams. And Zofia Dudek. And Leo Daschbach. And Athing Mu. And Trey Knight. And Morgan Smalls. And Leah Pasqualetti. And Josh Methner. And Briana Williams. And Cole Sprout. And Taylor Ewert. 

And a hundred thousand others. Plus all your non-track classmates. 

You've been fleeced by an unprecedented heist. Stolen experiences that were too precious to value and impossible to replace. 

You have our sympathy. But also, we pin our hopes on you. 

You endured the losses, grieved over the sick and dying, vowed to end the scourge of racism.

You wore a mask and took a knee. 

It made you stronger, matured you quicker. 

Class of 2020, we're counting on you. Keep leading, dreaming and inspiring, rising to meet the challenge. Overcome the planet's predicaments.

Don't give up on your goals, even after being knocked down. You know how to do that. We've already seen this trait in you. 

Make the country, and the world, a better place.

Love to you all. And good luck. 

- The DyeStat Team