As graduation fastly approaches, high school seniors are all heading toward the same milestone that has been thirteen years in the making. But the way each senior experiences their final year can look different. While some seniors are celebrating every moment throughout the year, others are focusing on the future or quietly preparing to move onto the next parts of their lives.
However, saying goodbye to high school isn’t about just leaving a building, it’s about leaving behind a routine, a community, and a version of themselves that were crafted during their time. Graduation is close and, for everyone, the time has come where the moment they have worked for is finally here.
“I believe, or would at least like to believe, I have (over a long period of time) really prepared myself for finishing high school off,” senior Brian McCormick said. “This process started all the way at the beginning of my senior year when I applied for college and began to think about my steps to leaving high school and moving on. This process will then come to an end, not on graduation day, but on my first official day of university that will mark a change in this period of my life.”
Preparation can look different for everybody, and many students choose to embrace the ‘lasts’ that come with their final year. Whether that’s their last first day of school, last football game or last class of their time in high school, seniors are more inclined to actually participate and soak in as much of the experience as possible.
“Knowing that this year is the last opportunity to enjoy these kinds of experiences with my peers put a lot of pressure on me to attend and enjoy them,” an anonymous senior said. “I mean, I only went to the homecoming dance for about five minutes, but I still know that all the last dances and games are something that might stand out to me as a memory when I’m in college or when I’m a parent.”
Part of saying goodbye and moving on from high school is bidding farewell to the routine and stability that high school gives students. While the schedules and familiarity aren’t exclusive to graduating seniors, it is something that they are moving on from. The day to day life and surroundings that students have experienced, with little change, for four years is coming to an end, and the fear of the unknown can be scary for some.
“I feel a little sad if I’m being honest with myself,” senior Gabby Morales said. “It’s weird to think that in a few months I won’t be waking up every morning rushing to get to school on time. Everything I’ve known is slowly going away and it just doesn’t feel like enough time.”
Each upcoming graduating class gets to witness what the seniors do and experience in order to become familiar with what awaits them. But a change that isn’t necessarily anticipated is the change that seniors may or may not witness in their peers and surroundings. The changes in behavior, actions, or routine can affect how seniors look back on their high school years as they walk the stage.
“I have noticed a change in myself and others around me within my senior year. I have noticed my social interaction has improved as I am no longer as scared to just talk or interact with random people,” McCormick said. “ Besides myself, I have noticed some of my close friends around me become more respectful and mature as their high school life comes to an end. These thoughts have changed how I view finishing high school in a good way. It makes me think that my growth and those around me will not end in high school, but will continue on throughout my life and especially in our college careers.”
There is no student who hasn’t changed during their formative high school years. Goodbyes can be challenging. Parting with the familiar surroundings, while also knowing it’s the last time life will be like it is now, isn’t easy; more so because graduating students are still young. But cherishing the experience, and being able to reflect on the journey of high school comforts the unfamiliarity of departing from a substantial part of life and growing up.
“Part of me has no clue what comes next, and as a lot of my peers would probably agree, that’s terrifying,” anonymous said. “But [there’s] something about having something awaiting for us, no matter what or where, makes graduating and going into a whole new part of life a little less scary.”
