Togetherness At A Distance: ACP’s First Senior Sunrise
On the fateful, breezy morning of September 12th, 2020, our very own senior class organized something revolutionary: a bunch of teenagers sitting around in a park watching a fiery ball in the sky (socially distanced and with masks of course)! Formally put together by seniors Saanvi Agrawal, Ava Berry, Kami Padilla, and Amy Tran, the class of 2021 had the opportunity to all gather at Tumbleweed Park. After asking Saanvi what influenced her to organize such an event, she just beamed and remarked “well, I wanted to give our class a chance to see each other again. If we as seniors can be united, it sends a message to all the other grades that we can all be connected no matter the distance.”
As any ACP student would know, most school years are formally kicked off by senior activities, an assembly, and an upbeat introduction to our school culture. However, due to COVID precautions and limitations on going back to the physical classroom, the seniors haven’t been able to really plan, much less interact with one another. So, this event was pretty pivotal in the class of 2021 becoming more connected and in sync. One could only imagine how overjoyed they all were to see each other from their “smiles” and the general energy in that cool, damp field. Bridge Bach even chimed in, saying “it was a political Renaissance, truly eye opening. The students coming together to watch the sunrise was great, but that was only a small fraction of the experience.”
As the lush, green grass was littered with blankets, food, friends, speakers, and even a couple ukuleles, seniors were able to see each other for the first time in forever, relax, and watch the red sun rise. Even if the sky was ashy and grey from the burning forests west of us, there was still something beautiful about the atmosphere. It’s as if everyone there knew that they weren’t there to just watch a ball of gas move across the sky; they were there for each other as a way to hope for a brighter future and the day that they can eventually kick off our return to ACP properly and joyously.
