“Don’t stress, Parisa. You’re getting more notes right than you’re getting wrong. That’s what matters.”

My wish for all of us is that whatever life brings our way, we’ll remember that we are getting more notes right than we’re getting wrong. That’s what matters.

I did it. I watch as the chat box fills with applause emojis. I wonder if Andrew is watching from somewhere, and if he is, I hope I made him proud.

GABRIELA

When your high school graduation garb consists of a hospital smock and tubes up your nose instead of the traditional cap and gown, it really puts the rest of your life in perspective. Especially when you just found out that you have a “rest of your life.” The doctors, uncharacteristically peppy, told me yesterday that I’ve turned a corner. My most recent Adema test came back negative, and I’ll likely be discharged tomorrow. I cannot wait to go home and eat something that isn’t the hospital chicken parm, which should not, under any circumstances, pass as food. But here I am, eating it anyway, indulging in my last Good Samaritan meal. I have to admit, it feels pretty damn good to be strong enough to feed myself.

Between bites, I text Parisa to tell her how in awe I am of her commencement speech. We haven’t physically been together in months, but even virtually, I could tell by the way she stated her words and carried herself that I’m not the only one who’s been permanently altered by this pandemic. Parisa gave off a confidence I’ve never seen from her. It’s like her self-worth finally caught up to the way everyone else views her. She’s changed for the better.

And even though I’ll have survived this virus mostly intact, I’ve changed, too. You don’t spend this much time in isolation and come this close to death and emerge from the experience as the exact same person. So I guess parts of me did die here. When Julia and Elena FaceTimed me, brimming with happy tears, to tell me that I’d gotten into UC Davis, I tried to match their excitement. I didn’t have the energy or heart to tell them that I wouldn’t be enrolling there in the fall, and that they shouldn’t bother filling out the financial aid applications. It turns out that when you almost leave the world, the path less chosen becomes the only one you want to travel down.