SCOTT COUNTY, Ky. — It was a way for high school senior Mackenzie Carmack to express her feelings about the way her school year came to an end.

 "I just wanted to write something that was super personal to me and that any other senior could relate to in a way."

For Scott County High School senior Carmack, the senior year she had dreamed of had come to a tragic end thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like seniors across Kentucky, she feels the emptiness of all the senior class moments that she’ll never have the chance to experience.

Carmack said, "I want to spread the message that pain is okay to be felt and that it is hard. And all of us have kind of gone through a similar experience. Whether you're in the band or you're a cheerleader or you're B team, you've probably gone to a football game or a basketball game. And cheered on your team and you didn't understand that that would be maybe your last time seeing them. And same with prom, like you bought your dress and your tux and you were super excited and you asked your date out and you, unfortunately, won't be able to see them again. And it's really upsetting that we had lost all those fun things that we were looking forward to. And so, it's OK to be sad."

With those sad feelings in mind, Mackenzie, an inspiring writer, sat down to write a poem about her senior year. This would be something that would allow her emotions to spill out onto paper, where she could share with other seniors struggling through this time.

"August 1st, 2019, 2:57 PM. Seeing my friends one last time before senior year. This is going to be our year. Senior year baby. Things change quickly.

August 23rd, 2019, 7:31 PM. Battle of the birds. The first graduating class of Great Crossing High School versus the iconic Scott County High School. Wish I would have gone to more football games.

December 9th, 2019, 6:59 PM. The Scott County Winter Choral Concert. Prepping backstage with my best friends. We were supposed to have another concert.

February 28th, 2020, 8:34 PM. I left right before we were beat by Frederick Douglas. Had I known it would have been my last basketball game, I might've stayed to see the final score.

March, 13th, 2020, 3:45 PM. The last seconds before the rest of our lives.

March 25th, 2020, 6:05 AM. If I close my eyes really hard, I can see my friends and I boarding the plane. That was going to be my first school trip.

April 11, 2020, 8:00 PM. Senior prom. Big dresses and pressed tuxes. We were supposed to dance all night.

May 30th, 2020, 10:00 AM. Graduation. I used to complain about how early our graduation was. I used to complain that we weren't graduating with Great Crossing High School, but I was still going to walk across the stage."

A walk across the stage that Mackenzie and other seniors in the class of 2020 still hold out hope will happen in the months ahead.