PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Since kids aren't returning to the classroom this year, many are missing out on major milestones.
Like so many other high school seniors, it's a year that ends in disappointment for Alyson Mazzetti from Newark High School.
"We've been going to school our entire life and this is like the things that we look forward to. Like this is the finish line, and we were finally getting to all the good stuff and as soon as all the good stuff was about to happen, this hits," she said.
"It's not fun. The main thing I'm concerned about is making sure I can graduate on time," Rodgers said.
College senior Kailey Ormsby is graduating from Penn State, and for her, it's a year without closure.
"We came home for spring break and then we're told that we weren't going back. So I wasn't expecting to have to say goodbye to some of my roommates who live in other places and some of my best friends that I've made over those four years," Ormsby said.
Mark Sigmund with Retreat Behavioral Health says this is traumatic for kids.
"You have a hurting kid and if you've heard of the stages of grief, it could be shock at first, where they aren't really feeling it. It could go into a deep sadness. It could go into anger," he explained.
Sigmund says parents need to empathize with the feelings their child is experiencing, and parents should not minimize the situation or say things such as "it could be worse."
