The winter of freshman year of high school, Neva Siers drove to Washington D.C.. The week before finals, the Women’s March took place all over the world. Siers planned on staying home to study while her mom went to D.C., but she was convinced to go by her mom, and she does not regret it.

“I don’t even know how to describe it,” Siers said. “It was out of this world seeing that many people in one place stand up for what they believe in.”

The march took place soon after President Donald Trump was inaugurated, leaving many people in shock.

“Trump got elected and we were all angry, but then we all came together for women’s rights all around the world,” Siers said. “I’ll never forget how I felt. It was incredible. It empowered me…We took a break, and we got lunch, and we were sitting in this hotel lobby. That was the only place that we could find that was close to us. We were sitting in there, and we kind of forgot about what was happening in the outside world. And as soon as you look out the window, it was like this whole other world. People were constantly walking by, the streets were packed. It was like we were in this bubble, this hotel lobby. You just look out the window and it was like, ‘This is exactly why we’re here: to be a part of something great and be a part of history.’”

Once Siers returned to Ann Arbor after this memorable march, she had a knew way of looking at things. She had decided to focus more on things that mattered.

“At the end of the day, school is not the most important thing out there,” Siers said. “There’s so much more going on than we will ever realize.”

Siers almost didn’t go to the march, and now she is eternally grateful she did because that was when she learned an important lesson. “You can’t take time for granted,” Siers said. Siers is grateful that she said yes to attending the Women’s March. It was there that she learned how precious time can be. But she never imagined her senior year being cut short due to COVID-19. Looking back, she would have treasured her time in school more if she knew what was coming.

“My senior year got cut short,” Siers said. “But if I could do my last week over again, I would not be focusing about schoolwork. I’d be wanting to have the last moments with my teachers and with my friends. Some of the people in my class, I will most likely never see you again. And that’s super sad. I just want to give everyone a hug. We can’t hug now, but we didn’t know that. I just want to thank my teachers and give them a hug and show them that I’m grateful for what they did for me. And the same with my peers.”