The most sentimental year during one’s high school career is their Senior year. There are so many mixed emotions throughout the entire school year; it all feels bittersweet, knowing the end is coming soon, and when caps are finally being tossed in the air, suddenly, freshman year feels like a distant memory. While it is very exciting to think about the future and what comes next in life after graduating high school, it is just as important to take the time to reflect back on one’s high school career, filled with extraordinary memories that last forever.
To put it in perspective, senior cheerleader Lincoln Perez expresses his emotions as graduation gets closer and closer, stating, “It feels very surreal to be in my last quarter ever of high school. I’ve always wanted to be at this point, but now, I want nothing but more time with everyone. I feel like it (high school years) was a mix of both slow and fast. It felt slow at first, but now that I’m looking back on it, I realize it went by so fast.” Additionally, senior Audrey Long also voices her feelings on experiencing her last quarter of high school, stating, “Being in my last quarter feels sad, yet exciting! I’m happy to be almost done, but there are definitely things that I am going to miss. I feel that my four years went very fast. Each year felt very slow to get through, but looking back altogether, it went really quick.” The feeling of knowing that this chapter in a senior’s life is reaching an end quite quickly seems scary, but the excitement and anticipation of it all is unmatched. “The most exciting part of graduating to me is seeing who everyone is going to become. I think it’s really fun to hear my classmates talk about what they want to do in the future. It’s really sad to leave, but it makes me feel better when I remember that everyone has a passion that they will be pursuing,” Long expresses. For Perez, he adds in his own excitement of this time of year for him, stating, “The most exciting thing to see senior year is how everyone comes together like they haven’t in the past few years and the community you have. Also, just graduating, in general, is exciting and that sense of relief and accomplishment for not just me, but everyone I’m graduating with.”
While there are many things to look forward to through the entirety of senior year, there comes challenges along the way, like deciding what college to go to, what career to go into, and sometimes, even just getting normal school work done. For Lincoln Perez, he states, “This year, I have been faced with having to worry about school, plus trying to get ready for next year, and also my online college course.” However, just like any adversity in life, there are always ways to overcome challenges. “I’ve overcome [these challenges] by developing a good work ethic and time management skills,” Perez states. As for Audrey Long, “Seniorities has definitely been the biggest challenge. I’m more focused on making some last memories with my friends than actually committing to school. It’s been getting better, but in the winter months, I was really lacking motivation,” she stated as her senior year challenge. No matter the challenge these seniors have gone up against so far this year, they have persevered through them and keep pushing forward to make it to the end very soon!
Even just reaching that title of being a senior feels like a milestone or accomplishment in itself, and should be a time to live in the moment, but it is also very important to reflect back on the parts of the high school experience that make saying goodbye at the end of the year so hard. These soon to be graduates emphasize what they will miss once their high school career is officially over. Long states, “I will miss being with my friends the most. Many of my friends I have known since elementary school or early middle school, so it will definitely be hard to be so far from people that I’ve been with every day for years.” Similarly, Perez emphasizes, “I think I’ll miss the familiarity and my teacher at Rocky, and seeing everyone, in general.” In more depth of reminiscing, Lincoln highlights, “My favorite memory in school would have to be Homecoming and the week of it. I felt really involved in things, and it was my last time prepping for our cheer Homecoming routine.” In addition, Perez also states his most memorable school year at Rocky, as “My favorite year would have to be this one (senior year), mainly because this year has been pretty decent with school work and my schedule is pretty easy. I’ve also done so much with my peers and have been very involved.” In another perspective, “My favorite memories are football and basketball games. Whether I was cheering on the sideline or in the student section, I always had fun with my friends and liked supporting my school… My sophomore year was my favorite. I was more outgoing than I was as a freshman, but the schoolwork wasn’t as difficult as junior and senior year,” Audrey highlights.
Furthermore, as graduation is quickly approaching, freshman year now seems like forever ago. Stepping back into the first year of high school, every freshman has expectations or hopes and dreams, as to what their high school years will be like. Whether it’s making new friends, learning more, finding romantic relationships, or new experiences, in general. Although those expectations at the time seemed plausible, not everything goes according to plan sometimes. For Audrey Long, she recalls, “I think my experience was different than I thought. I heard a lot of stereotypes that I didn’t think would apply to me. I didn’t think I would meet so many new people or get the courage to try new things, but I definitely did a lot of that. I joined new clubs and ended up getting out of my comfort zone a lot.” To add in, Perez, in contrast, recalls, “My high school career definitely went differently than I expected, this is because as a freshman I was like, ‘I’ll do so good and do my absolute best in school,’ but then I realized I should also be making memories with people, so I, of course, do my best, but don’t get that consistent 4.0 like I always thought I would.” Correspondingly, looking back to freshman year now as a senior, one may have experienced many lessons throughout the years. Sometimes, each new learned experience can make one wish they could go back in time to tell their “younger self” to prepare themselves for whatever high school has in store for them. “I would tell my freshman self to not worry about what other people think, and to not take little things so seriously,” Audrey Long discloses. Additionally, “Some advice I’d give to my freshman self is just do more and be more involved with school sponsored things,” Lincoln says.
Though it is a little bittersweet to look back on memories from each school year, knowing what was once familiar will become another distant memory, it is safe to say that memories like those from Perez and Long, will be cherished for a long time. Being able to look back at those times in high school is so special, because it means that even if it didn’t feel like it in certain moments, new experiences and memories were being made every day and continue to shape graduating individuals, and underclassmen graduating in the near future, as well!!
To the Class of 2026, many new adventures and memories await!!
