It has been a wild ride for graduating high school seniors. After a normal freshman year, their worlds were turned upside down during their sophomore years when the pandemic hit. We talked to Pickerington twins walking across the stage this spring before heading off to pursue their dream of culinary school.
“I feel like we learned a lot and are much more aware of things going on around us,” said Elisha Bennett.
It's a routine for Pickerington twins Elisha and Esrael Bennett to make their morning cup of coffee before heading off to work.
The bright, bubbly and very busy Bennett teens, both have two part-time jobs and are anything but typical. But like others their age they were shaken by the pandemic. Their very structured lives were turned upside down.
“Life was like really smooth it was like good that the plan already kind of know everything yeah we had a plan but then once the pandemic hit like you couldn't really follow a plan we had to like go day by day it was sporadic, “ said Bennett.
Esrael the more soft spoken of the very similar sounding identical siblings said at first they very optimistic.
“We thought it was going to be a month and we get back from spring break in April or whatever and then be fine,” she said.
Their goals and the long-range plan to get them there had been in place since their sophomore year. But now the 18-year-old graduating seniors who will soon be walking across the stage at Metro Early College High School said they felt like they were running in place for months.
“So we were going to stick to this plan to a tee. We were going to get our associates degree by the time we graduated, which is the whole point of us going to the school. While when the pandemic hit, we were like, oh, like, this is normal, we're still going to be able to carry out our plan because it hadn't sunk in but then when it sunk in, it was like, Okay, we still must figure out a way to grind but do it online,” Elisha said.
They said virtual learning came with many obstacles. They often felt like they were teaching themselves and their plans which included their business was all caught in the middle they wanted to forge ahead.
“We have like a business a bakery and cafe called Twinsies and that's like what we were kind of focusing on during that time but we kind of slowed that down because we didn't realize like this is literally going to last for like two-and-a half years and it's still going on which is crazy, “ said Esrael.
Their mom Sheila Bennett played a big role in helping her girls navigate the challenges brought on by the pandemic. The mother of six got the whole family involved.
“We come from an entrepreneurial family. And so really, I think maybe once we once the pandemic hit and we started, you know that first couple of months. I remember sitting down as I remember sitting down as a family and I'm like, Hey, this is what we're going to do. During this time. We're going to work on our businesses, “ said Sheila Bennett.
Despite all their planning and being organized they said their senior year was all about adjusting.
“I find that now like another barrier is switching back to what we call normal, “ she said.
Ten days ago they got some of that normal back they attended their senior prom.
“We went we weren't going to go then our friends convinced us to go so we went it was just like a night that was like we could just kind of forget about like a lot of stuff and we could just kind of be with our friends and it was different because we got to see so many people like we know all these seniors but we haven't seen them in like two years,” Esrael said.
As they look back they say something they often took for granted helped them cope was going on long long walks. Both had thought about a gap year but now both are head off to the Culinary Institute of America in New York in the fall. Esrael decided first, but Elisha tagged along on the campus tour and that sealed the deal for her to attend the school as well.
“Like my brain was completely fried too so I was like cooking is not like school like it is but it's not and we had already attended we attended Columbus State and we went to culinary school there too,” said Elisha
Both Elisha and Esrael agreed they and a lot of their friends were forced to mature a lot more quickly, and although it came with a little pain, they are positive it will help them in the long run.
