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Pandemic high school graduate finally gets chance to wear cap and gown: ‘Forever grateful for this selfless moment but forever grieving graduation’

A viral video of a 2023 high school graduate encouraging her older sister, a 2020 graduate, to put on her cap and gown has captured the hearts of TikTok users, especially those robbed of their commencement ceremonies due to COVID-19.

On June 2, Layla Lopez (@laylalopez419) shared a video from her younger sister, Luisana’s (@luis..ana) high school graduation. Layla is currently a student at Arizona State University.

“When your sister is class of 2023 but you were class of 2020,” reads text on Layla’s video.

While gathered on the field with family, Luisana places her cap and gown on Layla, who holds back tears. The latter half of the 47-second video shows the resulting photos they took.

“forever grateful for this selfless moment but forever grieving graduation. thank you luisana i love you,” Layla captioned the video, which, as of posting, has more than 2.6 million views and 418,200 likes.

According to the National Institutes of Health, all but one U.S. public school districts were closed by March 30, 2020. As coronavirus cases continued to soar, traditional graduation ceremonies, which typically occur in May or June, were becoming increasingly unlikely.

“The coronavirus outbreak has disrupted the foundations of daily life. For the high school and college classes of 2020 — and their families — the catastrophe has left a large, empty space where signature coming-of-age moments should be,” Erik Himmelsback-Weinstein and Nina Agrawal wrote for The Los Angeles Times. “Graduation speeches and senior projects; interviews and internships; grad nights and proms and spring sports banquets — all gone, replaced by the monotonous limbo of self-isolation and a spooky uncertainty: What now? What next? When?”

‘I low key get sad around graduation time cuz I didn’t get a real one with my friends:( so thoughtful or ur sister’

With more than 2100 comments, Layla’s video has especially resonated with fellow 2020 graduates who missed out on the pinnacle moments of their high school careers because of the pandemic.

“ik everyone makes jokes abt it but genuinely like i waited for my prom for years and just didn’t get it,” @arianatomlinson2323 wrote.

“I cried when I found out my graduation was canceled,” @ebj321 replied.

“I low key get sad around graduation time cuz I didn’t get a real one with my friends:( so thoughtful or ur sister,” @beansorbet admitted.

“In the context of developmental psychology, Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development may be particularly relevant,” Ariel Landrum, Clinical Director at Guidance Teletherapy Family Counseling Inc., told In The Know by Yahoo via email. “According to Erikson, adolescents are in the stage of ‘Identity vs. Role Confusion.’ They try to understand who they are, where they fit in, and what they want to become. Achievements like graduation ceremonies can affirm their sense of identity and accomplishment, providing validation and recognition from their community.”

“Missing these moments can lead to feelings of loss, disappointment, and even confusion,” Landrum added. “It could disrupt their identity formation process, as the recognition of their achievements and the formal transition to the next life stage was interrupted or omitted. It might also leave them feeling out of sync with their peers who had these experiences.”

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The post Pandemic high school graduate finally gets chance to wear cap and gown: ‘Forever grateful for this selfless moment but forever grieving graduation’ appeared first on In The Know.

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