JCHS Class of 2020 Senior Address

...and out-of-the-box

The world needs new, young, different thinkers to overcome the challenges we face today—who better to do the job?

At the 2020 JCHS Commencement, seniors Ashira Bloom and Josue Miranda delivered the Class of 2020 address. The speech was collaboratively created by Ashira Bloom, Lilah Ferris, Ethan Finestone, Yana Goldburt, and Didi Miller from the thoughts and memories of the 33 members of the senior class.

I

t was the night of August 24, 2016, and JCHS ninth graders around the Bay Area had already picked out their outfits for the first day of school, desperately trying to shake off enough nerves to get some sleep. Their dreams were filled with expectations that their four-year journey would be a perfect mix of Mean Girls and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Who knew that High School Musical--with all its singing--would turn out to be more accurate than any other high school drama full of angsty teenagers.

JCHS is not only different from the movies, it’s also different from any other high school. At JCHS, I learned that unlike Ferris Bueller’s high school, I could not con my way into staying at home because the school would send in an investigative team to confirm my whereabouts.

It wasn’t enough that we were attending the most unique high school in the Bay Area; the class of 2020 is unique on its own. I mean, I thought not completing my Keystone would be the only thing stopping me from being handed a diploma. Boy, was I wrong. We had to be the class without a true second semester, the class without a Senior Prom, and of course the class with a Zoom Graduation. I think we can all agree that all

four years were unadulterated wonderful chaos. Believe it or not, a pandemic isn’t the first event to mark our high school experience as unorthodox. And despite the spotty wifi connection, we still have a chance to look back and relive what made it so hilarious, joyous, and epic.

Perhaps it began when our first school Shabbaton was canceled. Keep in mind that this was on top of the usual freshman confusion of “I guess tefillah is mandatory” mixed with “why is physics impossible” and “what actually is EVERlab?” But despite the confusion and the ruthless “Four more years!” chants, our spirits weren’t dampened.

By comparison, Sophomore year was pretty normal if you put aside the fact that we had two different English teachers—one for the first semester and one for the second semester.

By Junior year, what defined us were things that had happened to us. It was during Junior year that our own achievements set us apart. I mean, we basically won Color Games that year. A 25-point difference!

When was the last time that happened?

It only got better from there. If you thought JCHS was chaotic enough on its own, send thirty-three kids to a foreign country for two weeks with limited adult supervision and lots of downtime. Spoiler alert—they come back one of two ways: they’re either sick of each other (which is likely) or they pull off the miracle our class did and come back full of “I swear the Druze meal was by far the best,’’ and “if that odds game in the hallway had continued someone would have shaved their head.” It was on this trip that we all discovered our class genuinely likes each other and we came back ready to prove it. After we bonded in Israel, our biggest problem became not having enough space at our tables at lunch. Witnesses can confirm that that was quickly solved by pushing tables (and people) together to include everyone.

We thought that was the end of the wonderful chaos. Honestly, we were tired enough that we hoped. Coming into Senior year, we knew there would be some stress about college, Keystone, and Senior thesis, but who cared? We would all turn them

in at some point. Senior year was about suntanning in the courtyard and waving goodbye to Juniors as we walked off-campus for lunch.

But again, Senior year was different than anyone anticipated. Yes, we got the first half to be stressed about college apps and test scores just like all the seniors before us. However, every other Senior class got a final few months to relax, enjoy each other’s company, and pretend that mandatory tefillah was suddenly optional. Our year got cut short, so we never got any time to sit back and be nostalgic.

This pandemic wasn’t what prompted our immense strength and maturity - it was the obstacles, the debates, the reconciliation and the constant existence of change over the past four years that did. In the face of the unexpected, the JCHS Class of 2020 did the expected. We started projects, helped others, bonded with our families, and took time for personal growth.

Looking back, these four years have been nothing like the dreams I had the night of August 24, 2016… it was so much better. The class of 2020 put to shame The Breakfast Club’s representations of the teenage cynicism that is typically expected of us. There is too much dedication in our teachers and too much good in our friends to let us fall into that mold.

And this chaos, this unconventional high school experience has probably made us the most prepared class JCHS has ever produced. The world needs new, young, different thinkers to overcome the challenges we face today and what better group is there to do the job? So to all my classmates: don’t stop being you, but more importantly, don’t stop being unconventional.