Reflections from Mr. Martell’ s Criminal Mind Class, Westford Academy Class of 2020

AA

Criminal Minds Class

Mr. Martell

17 May 2020

Final Reflection

Being a senior during a global pandemic is weird to say the least. While most of the world is worrying about how they will survive the virus and make ends meet during this trying time, most high school seniors are only worried about seeing their friends. It’s easy for us seniors to trivialize coronavirus and its symptoms because we are not at high risk, and now that the rest of our year has been cancelled all we want to do is hang out with our friends. All over social media are posts criticizing teens and adults alike for not social distancing, causing the virus to spread more rapidly. For us, we don’t care enough about the risks to continue ‘social distancing’ especially after our year has been ruined. Some may call it selfish, but they are not in our shoes. Also I would like to point out that ‘social distancing’ is BS. All along everyone has been saying “flatten the curve” and telling people to socially distance but to what end? Originally the reasoning was that we needed to socially distance and keep precautions in place so that hospitals would not be overloaded, but now it has been months and most hospitals have not seen an increase in the number of cases yet we are still being kept locked down with the economy shut down. To loosely quote Dave Portnoy on a Barstool instagram post, “When did flattening the curve turn into finding a cure?” It is unreasonable and unproductive to keep going on like this, especially when there may not ever be a cure for the foreseeable future. I am not saying lift all precautions and open all businesses, but I believe some things need to start changing.

CB

Mr. Martell

Criminal Minds

May 15, 2020

Senior Year reflection

Being a senior during a global pandemic is pretty overrated. Personally, I don’t really care about prom, graduation or anything like that. The biggest bummer would probably be the fact that I am unable to say goodbye to my old teachers and many acquaintances. I can see my friends whenever, simply because I have ways to contact them outside of school. But with people I only really saw at school, the ability to see them is pretty much gone unless I were to bump into them out and about. I know a few kids who are going to the same college as me (UMass Lowell) but that’s only a few students. That’s honestly the only disappointing part of the pandemic, the inability to see the teachers who have put up with me in their classes over the past years. That’s the definite hardest part of the whole ordeal. Other than that I don’t really care.

RC

These past couple months of quarantine have been very bizarre for every student around the U.S. For me, I have been trying my best to keep a busy schedule by working out everyday, getting outside, picking up old hobbies and things like that. I’ve been spending more time with my family and I think that is really important before going off to college. The hardest part is being away from the places that you enjoy like the beaches, malls, concerts, etc. I do miss being at school with friends but it is nice to slow down from the stress at school too. Since it was the end of the school year, I was glad we didn’t miss as much. Having this time off is good before college because it gives us time to start fresh again. I’m definitely going to miss sleeping in and having no stress during the day because once college hits, it’s back to the grind. Being a senior sucks right now but I’m glad to move onto the next chapter in my life now. The thing I miss the most is baseball because it would’ve been my last year playing high school baseball. It sucks that there won’t be a disney trip and prom but in the future, I hope I can see everyone again. Finally, I want to thank all the history teachers this year for teaching me.

AC

Being a senior during the coronavirus pandemic has been something I could have never imagined. It seemed that senior year was going almost perfect for months, and then one day everything changed drastically. I would be lying if I said this was not hard for me, and I am sure that all other seniors would agree with me. It is extremely sad that I was not able to finish out my senior year like I was supposed to, and I lost out on so many opportunities because of this pandemic. No Disney, no capstone, no prom- the list seems like it never ends. While all of this is extremely disappointing, I have learned a lot from the situation we are all currently living in. I have learned to be grateful for what I do have. As of now, all of my friends and family are healthy, something that is truly a blessing. Additionally, my parents and I have both been able to continue to work- unlike many people who have been suffering financially for months now. The pandemic has really helped me notice how lucky I truly am, and how I should not take anything for granted. While the world seems dark now, I wake up everyday knowing that this will all work out eventually.

JD

Criminal Minds

11 May 2020

Seniors’ Perspective

Even though quarantine has successfully segregated most of America, there is no doubt this epidemic has brought everyone closer together. Yes, it is sad that our traditions have been postponed, canceled, or moved digitally, but in the end, we are not alone. The rest of America, and the world quite frankly, are facing the same struggle. This realization is probably what has kept me sane during quarantine; the fact that others are facing the same conflicts as I am right now.

This experience has brought not only tears but enlightenment as well. Instead of sulking on all the things lost this year, quarantine gave me time to reflect on all the good memories made throughout my high school career. Although I’ve lived in Chelmsford and been in the Chelmsford school system most of my life, I am incredibly grateful to have finished my last three years of high school at Westford Academy.

So what is it like to be a senior in high school during the time of a global pandemic? Sad, but also refreshing. I’m glad I’ve been given this free time to reflect on all of the good things brought upon me, moving to Westford. I am incredibly grateful for all of the friends I’ve made, the people I’ve met, and the opportunities I’ve been given. I am so grateful to have gotten accepted to every college I’ve applied to, and cannot help but thank my teachers and counselors. Not only are they more passionate about teaching, Westford teachers and staff make school feel like home and make students feel like family.

The one wish I have is to see every person I’ve met at Westford Academy one last time. Not virtually, though. I want to be able to say thank you to every person from Westford Academy that has impacted my life significantly or not. I do hope we get our in-real-life graduation because that is something I know I’d love to reflect on in the future.

JF

Mr. Martell

Criminal Minds

13 May 2020

Living Through A Pandemic Senior Year

Living through a pandemic is a weird and unique experience for people of all age groups. It is an inconvenient and scary time, with the world not knowing when it will stop or get better. Being a senior in high school is something we as a class have been looking forward to since we first started going to school. It is a time where we can almost take a break, soak up every last experience in high school, and make memories that’ll last a lifetime. While this pandemic is most definitely creating memories that’ll last a lifetime, it’s not the memories we necessarily looked forward to. Not being able to participate in spring sports is something that really affected my senior year. Last year’s baseball team tested some of the best teams in the DCL, so not being able to go back out on that field and prove our team’s talent or put the jersey on for one last season is something that really makes this senior year different. Prom and Disney being cancelled is also something that negatively affected our senior year, making it harder to deal with this pandemic and go off to college without having these last experiences with the class of 2020. All seniors look forward to these two events, where the class can come closer together, and we can have freedom with our classmates for one last time before heading off to college on a new chapter. For these reasons, a pandemic occurring in our senior year is most unfortunate. However, I believe this pandemic has also helped me in a way I wouldn’t have expected. It’s allowed me to isolate myself and alter my everyday schedule I’ve had the past 4 years. I have been doing things that interest me, instead of just following my friends which I think was important for me to learn, especially before going off to college where independence is inevitable. Overall, experiencing this pandemic my senior year could have been the most unlucky thing for our class, but at the same time there are definitely some positives that I believe will be good life lessons for the future.

CG

Mr Martell

Criminal Minds Block: G

15 May 2020

Reflection on 2020

I can’t say this is how I expected to end my senior year. Having to go through this pandemic knowing I have spent 12 years of schooling to miss the most important, memorable years of my life. Corona has not only affected the senior class of 2020 but has affected the whole world. In the beginning of the quarantine I was not sad, I was doing good and learnt to make myself laugh and in a way I found who I am and got to reflect on life more. As time went by it started to hit me more I grew sadder and just really wanted to be alone and not even around my family anymore. I felt like everything I worked for throughout the years was pointless. I don’t know if it was just a phase but I pushed through it and i’m back to being happy. I started to social distance with friends which made things a whole lot better. I do have to say corona taught me to not take life for granted and anything that comes my way I can push through it and come out better on the other side. I grew a stronger bond with my family since we spend so much quality time together now. Having so much free time I figured out my plan for after highschool. I have realized the people who I have stayed in contact with throughout this pandemic will most likely be in my life for a very long time. One of the days of quarantine my parents looked at me and said “having so much time with you we have realized you are ready to live life to the fullest and ready for whatever the world may throw your way”, that really did mean so much to me. Throughout highschool I can’t say I was the easiest for my parents and most definitely caused some trouble, so hearing them say that it meant the world. In a way being in quarantine I guess did have its moments but it also made me grow a stronger bond with my parents and I will never forget the moments we have shared throughout this pandemic. High School was full of ups and downs and so many great memories that I will never forget. I would truly do anything to have senior year back but at this time quarantine has taught me so much and will forever have an impact on my life.

CG

What has it been like to be a senior in high school, during the time of a global pandemic. It is not a question that has a simple answer, or one that has an obvious answer. I know for many people, friendsfreinds and classmates, it’s been rough. From having prom taken away, to stressing out about Disney money, and even worrying about passing AP classes. Many students  have struggled mightily with this pandemic facing our world today. For me personally I was not planning on attending prom,it is just not something that really interests me. I know that is an unpopular opinion, but as a result Prom being postponed or moved, or whatever it is presentlypresntently, didn’tdidnt phase me much. However I was a little shaken by Disney being canceled, and Graduation being moved. Disney was an event I’ve been looking forward to for a very long time. I think for everyone there’s one main senior event that they look forwardfoward to the most. WhetherWeither that be gained through hearing about how great it is from former seniors, or a more personal reason.  I remember seeing my friends and teammates from football posting disney photos after graduation and speaking highly on how great of a “last hurrah” it truly was. Between rooming with friends, or maybe going for your first time to Disney, it meant alot to share it with the people you grew up with. While prom and graduation have a more superficial and flashy aspect to them, hanging out with all your friends at Disney is not something that will likely happen again. I truly hope that there is some reunion in 10 or so yearsyeras, that everyone can attend, and we can all retry our Disney attempt. But at the end of the day, what I am going through is peanuts compared to what other people are going through. I may have lost Disney, but some people are losing family members. Or staying up at night hoping their first responder son or daughter is being safe. It’s important to always keep everything in perspective and be grateful for what you have. If this pandemic brought anything good, it would be reminding all of us about that important life lesson

SG

Mr. Martell
Criminal Justice

14 May, 2020

Being a Senior during a Global Pandemic

Being a part of the senior class during this time is heartbreaking. We have studied for 13 years for these last few moments together as a class, before we part our own ways. Working hard for 13 years just to have the four months we have been waiting for to get taken away just sucks. I grew up with most of these kids, I’ve known them since kindergarten. Maybe i won’t get the chance to see any of them ever again. Being a senior during this time is hard. We are all upset but if we say that we are upset about missing prom and graduation, people tell us we are selfish. “People are dying and all you’re worried about is your senior year” that’s what we get told when we talk about missing out on senior activities. Well i do understand it, Ii know families are losing loved ones, i’m aware of that. The virus is affecting everyone in different ways. I just wish I had one more day in highschool. My last day wasn’t very good. I came in late, got a 56 on a math test, got into a fight with a friend and the whole day I was worrying that it would be my last, and little did I knowi know it was:(. There are so many teachers I wanted to thank. My whole high school career I struggled a lot, being in and out of hospitals was tough. Therethere were a few teachers that really helped me, I wanted to thank them in person on my last day of senior year. I didn’t know it would end quicker than I plannedi planned. although on the brightside, this whole thing has taught me not to take anything for granted. I’m not always promised another day. Being a senior right now is hard but at least we are all supporting each other. It’s not just our school, its schools across Aamerica. I see posts from other states about being a senior and it does make me feel better, to know it’s not just us.

AH

Criminal Minds

Mr Martell

15 May 2020

Being a senior during this time has been very strange. There is nothing normal or fun about it. It has been really hard to miss out on the things that we have all seen our friends and kids from the grades above us experience and enjoy. The abrupt ending of the school year has also been difficult. There was no goodbye or no time to even clean out our lockers. Senior year started out so fun and then came to a complete stop. It is really sad to miss out on prom and Disney but hopefully we will have some sort of graduation. I hate that our yearbooks probably will not have any signatures on them. It is just weird and a time that is hard to describe. Some days it is hard to wrap my head around all that is happening in our world today. I have really not liked not being able to see my friends. I am grateful for technology such as facetime but it really just is not the same. Another really hard thing for me is not being able to see the kids that I babysit. They all hold a special place in my heart and I really miss them. I have loved being home with my brothers, especially since we will be away at different schools next year, but the two of them are starting to drive me nuts. Overall, although this is kind of a nightmare I am trying to make the best of it. I have been keeping busy by getting lots of outdoor exercise and I am able to go back and forth to my lake house which is a great change of scenery.  I am lucky that I actually do miss school and am grateful to have had such a great time at Westford Academy.

JH

Mr. Martell

Criminal Minds

May 15, 2020

Criminal Minds Reflection

During this pandemic, I have had an experience unlike most that I have had in my life. It was hard to accept that, rather than pursuing my senior internship, I would have to spend well over a month in my house doing homework assignments. At first, I was stressed at the idea of having to complete so much work in a week over the course of six weeks, but I managed to get used to it and manage my time well each week.

I was disappointed that I could not participate in track this year, but I have prevented this from being a problem, as I have exercise regularly since the school was closed. As for the cancellation of the prom and the Disney trip, I had no date for the prom, and I was considering pulling out from the Disney trip, as it took me a long time to establish a group.

Another area of my personal life that was affected by the pandemic was my church community. Every year during the Summer, the SCA collaborative organizes a Mission Trip to Presque Isle in Northern Maine. I participated in one last year and had a great time, but this year, it was cancelled. Although I understand the reasoning for this, it just goes to show how much of an impact the coronavirus has had recently.

Overall, the time I have had in my personal life during this pandemic has been boring, and it is even worse that it has taken place in my senior year of high school. It is only more unfortunate that so many people are affected worse than myself, whether they have lost their jobs in non-essential services or lost family to the coronavirus.

LK

Being a highschool senior during the pandemic has been surprisingly easy. Besides the weekly distance learning assignments, which only take about three days to complete, it’s as though summer break just started a few months earlier than usual. It’s given me time to pursue my own interests, such as digital art and computer graphics. I can spend more time outside getting physical exercise. I even recently finished reading a book just for fun – something I haven’t done in about six years.

Academics have adapted to this new situation with surprising efficiency. AP exams have been made much shorter and have moved online. They are also now completely free-response and open-notes. This is fine for something like calculus, but my test scores for biology will likely suffer without a multiple choice section. There are no longer any finals to worry about, and the binary credit/no-credit grading system means the occasional missed assignment will have (hopefully) no measurable impact on quarter grades.

There is a large group of students who are upset that events such as prom, graduation, and the Disney trip are being either postponed or cancelled. As someone who is not fond of large social gatherings, I was planning on skipping most of these events anyways. Maybe when I’m older I’ll regret missing out, but for not I’m not too bothered.

The only major issue with social distancing is the lack of direct social interaction. Normally, I’d rely on being in school to talk with friends, whether it was in a classroom or during advisory. The brief google classroom video calls we have don’t really facilitate this sort of passive interaction. Now I need to learn how to actually initiate the interactions, which is probably a skill that would be useful in the future regardless of social distancing. Thankfully, the power of the internet makes this task much easier than it would have been a decade or two ago.

RM.

Criminal Justice

Martell

11 May 2020

Senioritis? More Like Corona

Walking into school on the first day of Senior Year was somewhat bittersweet, but I had no idea of what was ahead of me. My first class of the year happened to be Criminal Minds with Mr. Gorham, and it was actually really awkward because I had come into class late because I still didn’t know what Mr. Scully/ Mr. Gorham’s room number was as a senior. The class was fun and was always something I looked forward to. Unfortunately, in the third quarter of the school year, COVID-19 had become a force to reckon with and would keep us home for the rest of the year.

Immediately, everything in my life has shifted. My father was forced to file for unemployment, my mother had to start stripping her clothes after her shift at the hospital, and I would no longer be having the senior year everyone at WA longed for. At first, I wasn’t sure how to feel. I still kept my hope that I would be able to have an internship, a spring sports season, and graduation. When Governor Baker finally announced that we would not be returning to school, it finally hit me. I cried, my mom cried, my dad cried; it was really an upsetting moment in my household. At this point, I’ve become sort of numb to everything being taken away, it’s definitely something I will always remember. I know it’s not right for me to say it is unfair that it happened during MY senior year, as no one (except maybe Trump) could have seen it coming. This moment in time will never be forgotten for generations to come; the class of 2020 will be in textbooks one day. I just hope everyone stays safe, and that things will return to normal soon.

DM

Mr. Martell

Criminal Minds

15 May 2020

Reflection

Throughout this global pandemic, we as seniors have lost almost every good part about being a senior. We were not able to go to Disney World and we lost three hundred dollars. Also, we could not go to prom or even the seniors’ last night. Being in this pandemic showed us how we take for granted the little things in life such as not wearing a mask all of the time, or needing to be overly cleanly 24/7. This whole pandemic has made the last couple months of senior year very unmotivating to complete assignments. Our senior year will go down in history as one of the worst graduation years of the 2000s.

JN

I am not a cancer patient. I am not homeless. I did not lose my job, nor did my parents. I am just a High School senior without the activities annually provided to me. I feel no pain. I’m dissapointed maybe, but not sad.

There is the question: Do we deserve it all? Disney, Prom, Graduation? Maybe we do. But what was most important were the things our four years gave us. What we learned, who we met and what we took away from those people and their courses. We begin our lives at a starting line pushed up about 50 feet from the next runner because of the fact we grew up in Westford, and attended Westford Academy.

So being a student during a pandemic, I feel confident that I’ll be able to conquer mental challenges, because this has not been very hard for me. I stay inside, go out for a few things, wear a mask and then fall asleep. I feel like I’m ahead of everyone because of constant complaints I’ve heard, and the feel-bad-for-me attitude displayed by many. That’s not really supposed to knock them, or mock their character. I just disagree that out of all ways to handle hardship, crying over luxuries should not be one.

For those losing friends and family, they should be sympathized for. They should be lifted up when they feel down. That is hardship. Not when your squad can’t chill by the pool at a resort, or wear formal clothing and jump up and down to music. We will have those moments eventually and be able to live life with people we love,  just another time. I pray that everyone in WA stays safe and their families stay safe as well.

Apart from ranting on a google doc, my days at home are filled with genuinely good family time and I’ve finished many shows since being home. Other than that I have accomplished little.

NO

The end of a huge developmental era happening 4 months early isn’t that big of a deal. We still had the normal high school experience and I can’t complain about me missing prom, a class trip, lacrosse season, last night, internship and graduation because…well, the world is shut down and people are sick and dying and scared, and that’s bigger than high school. I don’t want to be a brat and rant about how the class of 2020 got jipped by a life-threatening virus that has the world in chaos. Although, having this all happen at the best semester of high school is a colossal bummer. If I were a freshman I would be siked that I was finally a sophomore and if I were a junior I’d be so happy that AP and SATs aren’t a priority right now. I also don’t think I would be as bummed out if coronavirus wasn’t a constant topic of conversation and just when you forgot about the current state of the world you turn on the tv or some distance relative apologizes for how much, “this put a damper on our senior fun” and your reminded that this is supposed to be our time to feel accomplished before we have start all over. I have found that in isolation it’s really not my friends that I miss. It’s the people that I never got to see outside of school. I miss the kids who I never would have gotten to know if I were not randomly assigned the seat next to the freshman bio, those people were the most refreshing. I also think that through all this time of reflection I know how little my problems are in the grand scheme of things. I now know that there are so many things bigger than me and my senior year is such a small part of my life. My heart is constantly warmed by the people who try so hard to mend our goodbye celebration; their efforts are too kind. I think I speak for most of my class in saying our loss hasn’t hit us yet because time is so warped, I’m sure we will bewe be sadder as the dates that would have been events continued to pass.

MP

Being a senior in high school during a global pandemic has been a very unique experience. On one hand, we don’t have to go to class for the rest of the year, but on the other hand, we miss out on Disney, prom, graduation, and making last memories with our friends before we go to college. The college selection process has also been crazy in this time, and some interesting challenges have arisen because of the situation we are in. picking a college was a lot harder than I anticipated it would be, because I couldn’t tour them any more than I already had and there is only so much you can get from a virtual tour. I think in the long run many of us will gain something from going through this experience, like more patience or appreciation for what we have and how fragile our way of life is. I regret that we won’t be able to experience our last days as a class together, dance together at prom, go on the rides at disney and walk during graduation, but not being able to do those things almost makes me appreciate them more in a way. I’m glad we had work to keep up with for the remainder of the school year so I could stay in touch with all of my teachers and classmates for a while longer, but I’m also glad to head into summer and hopefully be able to spend time in person with people again. I know that not only our class but also every other school in the world is experiencing this pandemic so there is some solidarity in the fact that we are all in this together. I think the world will be a much different place after this pandemic is over and we might see some changes for the better that we wouldn’t have before.

LP

Mr. Martell

Criminal Minds

15 May 2020

Graduating in the Class of 2020

I never thought in a million years that my senior year of high school would be ending the way it is. Back in the beginning of January when covid-19 started spreading in other parts of the world, I remember joking about it with my friends and family not knowing that it would eventually affect us all here. When this eventually had started affecting the US and school was canceled on Friday March 13, my first reaction was shocked. I remember not knowing what was going to happen and how long this would all last. Fast forwarding to today almost three months later, I am now more annoyed and saddened by everything that has happened. This deadly disease has made everyone’s lives change and has made us miss out on so many things, especially for seniors. All throughout my four years in highschool, I have been looking forward to celebrating all the fun senior activities. Such as senior skip day ( supposed to be the day after school was canceled), internship, prom, Disney, senior bbq, graduation & last night. Not being able to experience and go through these fun times with my friends really sucks. Another thing that I get to miss out on is my last few months of dance. I have danced ever since I was three, and to not be able to have my last two dance competitions and my last recital really stinks too. I have been working hard since August practicing and learning these dances to not even being able to perform them. Not being able to participate and experience these events are sad, but it is what it is. I’m thankful for being able to have the time to spend with my family before I go off to college in the fall, and I’m looking forward to having a fun summer with my friends if things start to open up again. I am lastly thankful for all the people that have done things for the seniors to make them feel special during these tough times. It’s definitely a year I will never forget!

Criminal minds

G block

JQ

5/14/20

Final Reflection

Senior year is supposed to be the best year of highschool with all the benefits and seniority throughout the school. However during this pandemic it is hard to deal with because almost all the fun activities that I have been looking forward to since my freshman year, like going to disney. Being a senior during this pandemic sucks and is very disappointing but you just gotta make the best of it. The staff at WA helps a lot with that by not putting too much assignments on us and making it as stress free as possible while still trying their best to teach us. This pandemic during my senior year has helped me find time to plan stuff out for my future and to finally finish some at home projects which is not what I thought I would be doing for my senior year but I am trying my hardest to make the best of it. This time off has also has allowed me to look back on my last years of highschool and all the memories I have made along the way and it helps me realize just how thankful I am for the staff at WA for making my four years as memorable as ever and I never thought four years would fly by this fast. Also I have realized that because of this pandemic that perhaps we are the most memorable senior class which can be a good thing. I always did want to be in the history books.

TS

Mr. Martell

16 May 2020

Criminal Minds

No cap No gown

There is no dispute and it can go without mention that the corona virus tremendously impacted our senior year. Some good did come out of it and also some bad did too. For example I’m glad Disney got cancelled because twomey took it away already and now it just got taken away from everyone so all he did was give me a full refund. But it also sucks cause I now can’t go to Atlantis like I was supposed to the same week of Disney because it got cancelled too. It was also good because capstone got cancelled and I wasn’t sure if my capstone was even okay with me doing it there so it bailed me out. But the last night thing that seniors do and the whole last week were both things that I will wish I did. For graduation and prom though I honestly don’t care if I miss those I wasn’t looking forward to them and I don’t miss them either. That’s how I feel about corona virus changing my senior year.

LS

Criminal Minds

Mr. Martell

5/21/20

The Global Pandemic

Quarantine has made everything so much more difficult. The greatest obstacle during distance learning I faced was the lack of structure. Not having anything going on made me lose track of time, I have no schedule. The lack of any structure and the absence of any event has made time seem meaningless. The first thing I did with no time was stay up so late that my parents wake up before I go to sleep. I completely flipped my sleep schedule. The weird sleep pattern made me lose track of  what day it was, I’d wake up one day thinking it was a monday in April and find out that it was the second wednesday in May. My failure to know what day it was was the first thing that caused me to fall behind on my distance learning. I started to play more video games and I would grind out on any game that me and my friends were playing just to have something to fill the void of meaningless time. Between video games and meaningless time I lost all motivation to do my schoolwork. I even rationalized my procrastination by saying that there is no way any teacher would fail a senior at this time of the year, especially because there is a global pandemic that took away almost every important senior end of year event. I regained some motivation after hearing rumors through the grapevine that Mr. Twomey was sending emails to people explaining that there would be repercussions if not all of the distance learning was completed. I eventually pushed myself though every week that I missed during quarantine, which ended  up being most of the work that was assigned to me. Overall being a highschool senior during the pandemic sucks, but I lost less than a lot of other people around the world. I am lucky that nothing happened to me or anyone around me that destroyed the future.