Senior Year

Kat Dart

(7/2012) From Wikipedia - Senior Year -- "Senior is a term used in the United States and occasionally in Australia o describe a student in the 4th year of study (generally referring to high school or college/university study)."

From students -- Senior Year -- "Senior year is the LAST YEAR we have of high school and the year we can all make a mad dash for freedom."

From Urbandictionary - Summer Vacation -- "The best part of a child's life.

Do grownups like it?"

Summer vacation for a lot of students starts after the last day of school. For me, it started a few days later due to some projects that I had to deal with.

Number one. My driver's test. Astonishingly enough, failing the first time made me way more determined to practice practice practice for the second time, and knowing that I had a second test coming up was comparable to have a dark, heavy cloud hanging over my head - in other words, not quite feeling the stress relief that summer vacation is supposed to bring.

And number two, to prepare my bedroom to act as a guest bedroom, I began the rather daunting task of cleaning my room, and clearing out the things I didn't need.

It started out as a relatively simple process, start from the top and work my way down. With that in mind, I started on a bookshelf that is held up by brackets, and then went and stripped my room of old things layer by layer, removing dust and dirt as I did so.

What started as a systematic, "relatively simple process" became a multi-day increasingly erratic physical memoir of the past three years in Emmitsburg, and of the years before my family's move.

I found old pictures of my dad, my sisters. A stuffed animal made for me by an aunt I haven't seen in years. Summer camp photo books, puzzles, stuffed animals. Old drawing and paintings, fantasy stories and novels.

All of the things I found helped show how my interests have changed, or have not changed in the past three years. How I've stuck with some things, like girl scouts, tried some things for a year or two, like drama, how my interests shifted to something I've stuck to with way more enthusiasm..

For example, Freshman and Sophomore year I was in drama club, until my interest declined and shifted over to something totally unrelated - like swimming for Catoctin's team and horses.

I know this is a topic I always end up coming back to, but it's just so amazing to think about how much me, my friends, my family all continue to develop and evolve into more stable, mature people. To see it happening to everyone around me, then look back and see that I am changing as well, as fast as the seasons do.

And then to think that this is the last year I'll be with all these people I've made friends with? Before we all move on our separate paths, leave the big building that forces us to wake up at some horrible hour of the morning, that we despise having to see everyday?

And then, to realize that this is our last year before we are all counted as adults, can make our own decisions, deciding which direction we want our lives to move in (college, trade school, enter the work force, traveling..!)

The last few years have been building up to this one. All that we've chosen to do will line up and force us to pay attention to it, and wrap up loose ends. The last year to make a lasting impression, to be able to be an irresponsible high school kid.

To conclude for this month, this is it. The final stretch, the home run. For all graduates, congratulations, and may you find success in whatever path you choose to take!

For all rising seniors. This is it. High school isn't supposed to be the best four years of your life. It's not supposed to be the highest point, the pinnacle of your life. Even so, high school should be memorable. So in your last year, how do you want to be remembered?

I'm going to wrap this up now and move on to the less serious (and possibly somewhat contradictory to how I normally am) stuff - it's summer vacation! I want to have a little fun, do something crazy and/or stupid.

Just because our upcoming (senior!) year will have a lot of serious and stressful times doesn't mean we have to start being totally serious now.