The Final Stretch: The Last Year of High School

Welcome to the end, the final countdown, the final stretch. It has been a long three years, but you have made it to senior year of high school. It feels like it was only yesterday when you first walked through those doors into long, narrow hallways, several stories of staircases, oh the staircases, and a complex of classrooms. You have, hopefully, taken all your required classes--3 math, 2 science, 4 English, 3 histories, Wellness 1-3 and 2 foreign languages--and have done enough to pass each class. Obviously, there would be some classes to do senior year, so you are not out of the ballpark yet, but home base is closer than you know it.

How does it feel being a senior in high school? Are you happy to finally be done with the high school, or are you sad that you will be leaving all your favorite teachers? Did the years go by quicker than you expected? Time moves so quickly and it always catches us off guard. One second you feel like you have enough time to finish that 5 paragraph English essay, and the next second you are rushing to finish all 5 paragraphs on a Sunday night, only to realize the next day that the paper is due next Monday, not tomorrow. Time hits us faster than we can comprehend it, and when we do comprehend time, so much time has passed that it feels like yesterday when we were taking our first steps in high school as freshmen.

Have you thought about what you plan on doing after high school? Going to college, joining the military, taking a year off for yourself, going straight to work? Don’t worry, you have time to think about what you want to do. The world is open after high school and you are free to do what you choose to do with your life. It is kind of overwhelming, honestly, because for so long, we have been confined to one world, the only world we know, and now a lot has opened up for us to discover. It is so much to handle at once, but whether you feel happiness or sorrow over it, you are free to discover the world and most importantly, yourself.

What will you miss the most about high school? The teachers, the students, the classes, the school itself? Any of the many events you wished to have gone to, but decided not to or could not attend? There were prom nights, field trips, stage performances, concert and jazz band performances and many other in-school and out-of-school events. Did you go to any of them? If not, do you regret not going to any of those events? You might have enjoyed yourself. There is a lot to be missed about the school, but will you miss any of it?

So much to do and so little time to do it all. At first, four years seems like a long time, but when you eventually catch up with time, you finally realize that it is year four of high school, senior year. You look back at your previous years of high school and it all feels like a blur. You could have sworn it had only been a year since first walking in the school, but in reality it has been three years and now you are in your final year of high school. Whether it be joy or sorrow you feel for leaving the school, remember, you still have a lot of your life ahead of you to make a difference. May it be for your country, your community or yourself. You are finally free.