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Tell us your advice for the class of 2022

The last few years have been anything but normal. What advice would you give to graduating high school seniors?

A student celebrates on stage after receiving their diploma for the University of the Arts 2022 graduation ceremony at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday, May 19, 2022.
A student celebrates on stage after receiving their diploma for the University of the Arts 2022 graduation ceremony at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday, May 19, 2022.Read moreTYGER WILLIAMS / Staff Photographer

It’s graduation season. For seniors in high school, the COVID-19 pandemic upended any semblance of normalcy. Nearly half their high school career has been conducted on Zoom. The shift to virtual leaning in March 2020 made technology more central to learning than ever before. Many students in Pennsylvania have lost someone they love to the virus, and are coping with grief. Many have become used to seeing their peers and teachers just by the eyes over their masks.

The new normal is nothing but. Advice that might have flown freely in the past can seam leaden now. Follow your dreams? Sure. Be bold? Of course. Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor? Alright now.

Staring down this particular moment, it can feel hard to prepare for the next variant, the next plot twist, the next setback. But that also makes this graduation season feel especially important — to remind ourselves of the hard-won wisdom, and the stakes that young people have in the future of our city and state.

So we want to hear from our readers: What would you tell graduating high school seniors?

Let us know in no more than two sentences in the Google form below, and feel free to reach out with more thoughts at dlockwood@inquirer.com. We’ll publish select responses in print and online in the weeks ahead.