Final Farewell

The beginning of the end. Senior year (12th grade) is the fourth and final year of high school. It’s full of hard work, success, joy, and celebration. It’s the year to really live in the moment and enjoy every rite of passage, every adventure, every last event. This is the final post of the School Series: High School Edition. The first post is called “In the Bubble”, you can read that here. Then, the next post is “Easy Does It”. Following that, is “Amongst the Crowd” which you can check out here. With schools across the country starting back up, there is no better time than now to share advice, lessons, experiences, and adventures from high school. Not only from the classes we take to the socialization aspect but also from the discipline of hard work to figuring out who we are and who we want to become.

A week or two before school started, my school’s senior yearbook pictures were taken. We had to come in one afternoon to get them done. It just so happened to be hot and humid that specific day. In addition to that, I never really in the yearbook previously. I typically avoided the yearly photos in high school. So, I didn’t have any idea of what to wear nor did I really care. Since I didn’t really prepare and put too much effort into it, it wasn’t the greatest yearbook photo of mine. The photographer did awesome. It more so the overall vibe I give off when I look back at my senior photo. I find it to be embarrassing.

Anywho, if you are someone who also isn’t a fan of school photos or getting your picture taken, that’s okay. You don’t have to be. But I recommend dressing up more than you usually would for your senior photo. Once it’s in there, it will there be there forever. Also, I recommend getting your yearly school photo taken. Sometimes, I look back and wish I had a school photo from each and every year.

Then, there are senior pictures. These were popular when I was in school. I would say it would considered a rite of passage. A lot of my friends at the time got their senior photos done together or by themselves. Basically, the photos are done outside of school by a professional photographer. Now I never got these done because I preferred not to be in photos at this time. From the photos my friends did, they looked fun.

With both the senior photos and/or the professional senior pictures, they could be put to good use. They can be used for graduation cards, holiday cards, college, interning, getting a job, professional profiles such as LinkedIn or they can be great keepsakes. So if you’re able too, I would do both.

At the beginning of senior year, I re-joined Cross-Country. I missed it too much. And although it was a bit strange to have taken a year away, it also felt right at the same time. Ironically the past three years we had been combined with the school across town. But my senior year, we separated so we each had only our schools team. So, right off the bat, it had a different feel to it. Also, we had a lot f incoming freshmen, sophomores who joined the team that year which was great for the sport. Throughout the course of the season, it was a lot of fun. At the same time, it was also weird competing against those we were once teammates with. As a team, we made it to the regionals. And at Regions, a few of us made it to sectionals. It was such a great season. My teammates were awesome and so much fun to be around. And overall, it was an experience.

After the season ended, awards were given out. Our coach decided to surprise my teammate (also a senior) an old jersey since she has been on the Cross-Country team for three years. At the time, I was pretty upset about it. Nothing against my teammate or coach but I was hurt as I had also been on the Cross-Country for three years and all years were varsity. It was devastating after all the hard work I had put in and it was unfair. However, it just goes to show that life isn’t always fair. Things will happen that are out of our control. And instead of focusing on that, I reminisce on the amazing teammates I’ve been lucky to have over the years as well as the phenomenal memories.

Outside of sports, I also was a member of the band. I played clarinet. If you participate in band in high school, most likely you’ll participate as part of the marching band. One, being in the band at my school, allowed you to get out of the physical education requirement. I’m not exactly sure why. I guess because we spend some of the summer and most of the fall marching. To put it more into perspective, of the four years and 8 semesters I had in high school, I only had one semester of gym. The rest were waived. And two, I joined band because I love classical music and band performances. The marching band was my weak point. I didn’t hate it nor did I love it. And I would say I was okay at marching. That was until Senior year.

I can’t recall exactly which game it was but it may have been one of our last games of the season. I was the leader of my line at the point. And what happened next, I don’t know. When I saw the line go, I remember contemplating to myself if I was supposed to go or not. I had suddenly gotten confused and couldn’t remember when I was supposed to go. While, I realized a few seconds later, I was supposed to go. So, I quickly caught up to my line. I was on edge and nervous the remainder of the performance. I also felt so embarrassed. I wanted to run and hide and never do it again. I’m sure my face showed it all. Luckily the camera quality wasn’t the greatest back then. I felt as though I suddenly had amnesia. Now I like to think of it being more stage freight than anything. It was my senior year. I was trying to take it all in and be perfect. The moment got the best of me.

No matter who you are, what social-economic status you have, where you are in life, none of us are perfect. We all make mistakes. We have all embarrassed ourselves at some point in life. We are human. Over the course of my life, I have learned that the best reaction when I do something embarrassing is to laugh it off. Most people don’t even notice. And if they do, so what? Things happen. Laugh it off. I know it’s easier said than done, but try not to worry about it too much.

For the homecoming dance, I wasn’t planning on going. Dances aren’t really my thing. I had also gone to the homecoming dance every year so I didn’t consider it to be anything special during senior year. Well, a few days before, I learned my friends were going and I didn’t have any other plans so I decided to go. However, since I wasn’t planning on going, it meant that I would need to find a dress asap. The one I found was black with some gray. It was strapless.

Well I was at the dance taking pictures with friends, I noticed two other people with the same dress. I was mortified again. I wasn’t confident in my high school years. Oftentimes, I was insecure. For the remainder of the night. I felt uncomfortable and wish I would’ve just stayed home. If you are ever in that situation, it is not a big deal. It may feel like it, but it’s not. My advice is to still enjoy the night. Don’t let something small ruin your night. Trust me, it’s not worth it. For instance, today if I saw someone wearing the same things, I wouldn’t care. I’d take a picture and make a joke about it. It wouldn’t bother me as it did during my senior year. Now a rite of passage of sorts that I recommend participating in during senior year, is TP’ing during homecoming week. As long as it’s only toilet paper (not eggs) and it doesn’t damage someone’s property, I see it as all in good fun.

I turned 18 years old a couple months into the school year. This is important because it allowed me to vote in the presidential election. Now I’m not going to go into my beliefs or the party I feel best fits those beliefs, but I do have to say that politics are important. Voting for who you think is best fit to run the country for their term is also important. It’s a right so use it. Meanwhile, one of the classes I took in 12th grade was geography. In the class, we took some kind of political test. It told you at the end where you were on the political scale. The result I had was Libertarian. I was surprised at the time. I didn’t quite understand what it stood for nor did I see myself as someone who was Libertarian. From Libertarianism.org, it states that Libertarianism is “the belief that liberty is the most important political value. Almost everyone wants freedom for themselves, but a libertarian also seeks to protect and expand the freedom of others”.

In regard to other classes that I took senior year, there was economics which was a requirement. In order to graduate, you had to take economics and pass it. I believe we had three chances to pass. Anyway, the class discussed the branches of the government, stocks, and the constitution. I feel as though at the time, I understood stocks a little bit more. We had a project on a website where we were given so much money to then try to buy certain stocks and increase our value. Although I wasn’t successful at the time, it was a great hands-on learning experience. As for the end of semester exam, I barely passed. I had the option to re-take but I didn’t want to do worse so I took the grade I had. Again, because I was a bit young and dumb at the time, I didn’t re-take it. I didn’t see the benefit of taking it again. If you are in the position to be able to re-take any exam, no matter what it is, my suggestion is to re-take it. The only exception is if an exam takes the new grade as the final grade. Otherwise, you can only improve from there and you are more likely to get a better score because of the experience you have. You know what to expect going into in the next time.

At my school, one of our senior trips include a field trip to Medieval Times. Medieval Times looks like a castle from the outside as it is based off of Medieval Times. Once inside, you can adventure around the take pictures, explore the Arms of the Hall. Then, you are assigned a color(s) representing your knight. After passing through the doors, it looks like an oval shaped arena. The are certain sections and sit down in the area that is of your color. For instance, senior year, were red. We had the red knight.  As we ate a four course meal with our hands, we spectated the knights battling it out on the floor. At the end, whichever knight was crowned victor, one person would be selected in the audience. Although I don’t remember which knight was victorious, it was a fun, fantastic experience to do with friends. The food was good too.

As for another senior trip, we went on a boat. I don’t recall the name of the boat but it was a double deck boat. We went downtown for it which was a 45 mins to an hour bus ride. It was outside of Navy Pier. As we walked up the ramp to the first floor of the boat, they took a picture of your group. Then, there food and drinks inside as well as a dance floor. On the outside, you could stand around. My friends and I took most of our pictures outside. And then, on the top, you could sit down and take more pictures. It was a fantastic time. The weather was gorgeous that day and so was the lake. Although the ride was a little bumpy from time to time, it was smooth sailing.

I also believe I took a road trip with friends both Junior year and Senior year. Junior year, a group of four of us went to Dallas, Texas together. We drove the 15 hrs from Illinois. We stayed at my families house. And then, the other road trip I took was with my best friend at the time and we drove to Dayton, Florida for Spring Break. It was a 17 hr drive. Both of those trips were quite fun and I learned a lot. My suggestion whether it is your freshman year or your senior year, take advantage of experiences, field trips, adventures, trips with friends, rite of passages, all of it. You won’t regret it. One day you’ll look back and be proud that you enjoyed all that you could.

Unfortunately, senior year isn’t all fun and games. Your main focus should still be doing well in classes, getting good grades, and graduating. But another important step is to figure out your next step after school. It looks different for everyone. For some, it could mean taking some time off to save money for college, taking a gap year to travel, going straight into the workforce, or getting into college. Whatever the next step for you is, make sure to plan accordingly. For example, I always dreamed of going to college. I was interested in going to or at least trying to get into one of the Ivy League schools. At the same time, I was also intrigued by schools in Texas. Growing up, I would typically spend two weeks visiting family in Texas. I loved the hot weather and really enjoyed the atmosphere. And then, another option was going to a college that offered Cross-Country. I had been recruited a little bit and there were a couple schools that offered scholarships. Overall, I knew I wanted to attend college but I was unsure of which direction to follow. I didn’t have a plan course of action.

If I could go back, that is something I would change. Also, I would recommend looking into colleges anytime in high school, not only Junior and Senior year as I did. It’s never too early to figure out what you want to do next in life. Even if you aren’t planning to go to college after high school, I recommend still looking into it, speaking to students at the campus, finding out about scholarships. There is so much you could learn. If it is the financial hardship that hinders you from attending college, there are so many scholarships out there, there’s paid internships, summer jobs, part-time/full-time jobs. You could take classes at your own pace. It’s not a race.

When I was applying for colleges and universities including an Ivy League school, there were a couple applications I didn’t finish. The main reason was because they required too much. As someone who was extremely quiet in high school, I wasn’t ready to do interviews or send a video of myself of why I wanted to attend. This is why I’ll never know if I would’ve gotten accepted into an Ivy League school. If you are a senior in school right now and you are still applying to colleges, my advice is to apply to all the ones you’re interested in. This includes ones that require more out of you. Although it may not be a big deal to you right now or in the near future, one day you may have that regret. You may later wonder if life would have been different.

In the end, I picked the University of Wisconsin-Parkside as it was in a different state but it was close enough that I could easily come home and visit. It was close to the lake, in a small town, and they offered a scholarship for Cross-Country. I believe there were only 5,000 students in the whole school. The campus was pretty small but it was beautiful. It was surrounded by trees and walking paths/running trails. It felt like the best fit for me at the time. Remember that no one knows your story, your journey, or what’s best for you. Only you know that. Make the choice that is best for you.

Prom. A rite of passage specifically for  graduating seniors. It’s a staple of the high school experience. As I mentioned in the previous post, “Amongst the Crowd”, my schools prom was held at a hotel. It was about 30-40 minutes away. It looked like a pyramid from the outside. When you’d go to the middle, it was open so you could see all the different levels. At the bottom would be all the tables and chairs. And then, off to the side was the ballroom/dance floor. The theme for senior year was party rock, I believe. And So, we got classes we our graduating year on them.

Anywho, since I had gone to Prom Junior year, I knew more of what to expect. I got my makeup down beforehand at Sephora. Met up with a friend at her house where we took photos. The friend group I went with, we also pitched in for a limousine. We took group photos. And then, we were on our way. During the course of prom, I talked to other friends, took pictures, enjoyed the food, and danced on the dance floor. There were some crazy moments but overall it was exciting and a wonderful night spent with friends. One of the crazy events was that I got breathalyzed. So, they randomly pick people out of a line to breathalyze them. And what’s crazier is that I also got breathalyzed my junior year as well. Two years in a row, shake my head.

As graduation was inching closer and closer, there were a few more things yet to accomplish. One, was getting our band teacher a gift. He was retiring at the time. An idea I had was a scrape book. We could decorate and design it and then have everyone sign it. Later we would present it at our last concert. This is what we did.

After bringing it the last couple days of the year and getting people’s signatures, I accidentally forget it at home one of the last days, if not the last day. It caused drama between my friend and I. I was treated as though I did it intentionally. When I say, I felt horribly for those who had not yet had an opportunity to sign it, I mean I felt the absolute worst. Then, on top of it, my friend and I had an argument and we stopped being friends over it. Other friends in our group also got involved. They messaged me about the ordeal, and they no longer wanted to present it with me. So, I had to find a replacement last minute. Thankfully, I had a close guy friend who was such a kind and amazing guy that he willing to present it with me for our final band concert. It truly meant the world. Most importantly, we got to celebrate our favorite band director.

From that experience, I learned who I could count on, who was there by my side through thick and thin, and who wasn’t just using me. It was a heartbreaking experience. To this day, I’m still grateful for the memories I made with those friends. It was a relationship I valued at one point or another. And even though it ended rather quickly and terribly, I do not and have not wished any bad will towards them. We were young. Those kind of things happen, especially in high school. Things are drawn out and made to be more dramatic. In my mind, it’s a learning experience.

If I could go back, I would’ve grabbed that scrape book so no one would have been made to feel undeserving not having a chance to sign it. It was not my intention. Since then, my conflict resolution skills have improved drastically. It happens with time and experience.

The official rite of passage for some students and most parents is to see their kid walk across the stage and graduate. I, once considered not participating in graduation as I was apprehensive about walking across the stage in front of thousands of people. But I am grateful I did. It will go done in the history books, well the yearbook. It was a treasured experience. After four years of hard work, some success, some failure, and all the moments in between, it was a dream come true being able to graduate.

There were five high school’s in my school district. All of schools would graduate at the same arena just at a different time. Each year they would rotate which school would graduate at which time. As it happened, my school got the 8am time slot. This meant I had to wake up at 6am to get dressed and be ready. I was a night owl. I stayed up late. So, waking up early even for graduation was rough. Plus, I was excited for the day ahead so I didn’t get much sleep. Also, the day of my graduation it was pouring rain. I spent some time doing my hair and later regretted it as it got wet. Not much I could go. As we were in line getting ready to walk into the arena floor, teachers came by to check if we had everything and that is when one of them mentioned I was missing my tassel. I must’ve left it at home as I didn’t have it with me. Luckily, they had extras so I could have one. Otherwise, I would’ve been out of luck.

After the speeches, it was time to walk the stage. I was nervous. But it all happened so quick. Before I knew it, I was back in my seat watching other s cross the stage. As I was seated once again, it was time to take our tassels from the right to the left. At that moment, I realized I had it on the incorrect side. Therefore, I didn’t need to move it as it was already on that side. Shortly thereafter, the time came. We graduated. Capes were thrown above our heads, cheers from the crowd were heard, students were celebrating, and we made our way back and out to greet friends and family. By then, the sun was shining. I was taking pictures with everyone. I was congratulating and saying my goodbyes to friends. It was bittersweet moment. I knew in a couple months time, I would leave all I knew behind and would start my next chapter in life.

Through summer after high school graduation, there were graduation parties. There was drama. In a sense, you learn how close you are to certain people. Usually most grad parties have food, this means there is a limitation of how many people can attend. A good example of this would be a wedding. You need to be able to plan for all who will show up. I’m sure this may have happened to me too. But you would hear from the friend group or from an acquaintance of a friend having a party and learn you weren’t invited. It would be hurtful. I’m sure most of the time it was unintentional. But it would still suck as one would feel left out.

If you are ever in that position, understand that more than likely it was unintentional. Sometimes, people forget, they aren’t thinking clearly as they are caught up in the excitement of celebration. It could be just a family related event. It doesn’t mean you aren’t important to them. If you are hurt or feel it was intentional as thought you were closer to them, I would suggest reaching out. Asking for clarify on why you may not have been invited. But I wouldn’t assume the reason.

All in all, high school was a magical journey. It was full of adventures, fun times, and amazing individuals. There were lessons to be had but often more highs than lows. Although I can’t say for certain, high school was an easier time when I attended. Social media and technology were nowhere on the scale it is now. Therefore, it didn’t dominate and take over any aspect of my high school experience. We got to live and enjoy being teenagers without the outside and/or online criticisms.

For instance, my Freshman year of high school, I still had a flip phone. When texting friends, we’d memories the buttons. The phones were also more durable but only had games like snake on it. Also, it would take a few moment and  typically cost additional money to connect to the internet. Often times than not, we had to buy ringtones. Social media that existed at the time was MySpace, Facebook, and Instagram. However, Instagram was used only as a place to share pictures. No one had curated profiles. There weren’t “influencers” yet. It wasn’t a huge thing. Instead of ChapGPT, we had Spark Notes. Spark notes were great if you had a book to read for class. It was a cheat sheet in the sense as it would summarize the book.

How was your Senior dxperience? Did we have similar or differing experiences? Comment down below or connect with me on socials. You can find me on the Facebook page “Inspiring Those Who Inspire You” or my Instagram @Inspire.Those.Who.Inspire.You.

As a signature of this blog, I like to end each post with a suggestion to “Pass on kindness”. There is no such time as the present to “Inspire Those Who Inspire You”. Acts of kindness, no matter how big of small, can have a direct, positive impact on someone else. Go out there today and change someone’s life for the better.

Before you have a great rest of your week, here is some advice from  fellow readers and/or connections of mine:

“Hi there - some advice I suppose I have for those in high school starting a new semester is.. I suppose, do your best and remember high school is just the beginning of "you" - you are not meant to peak in high school :). I graduated from high school in 1992 and was voted the "shyest girl" of the Minooka class of '92. The shyest boy was too shy to get his picture taken for the yearbook and I willingly went, so at least I had the guts to do that :) Your blog is awesome :)” — Beth

“Learn a skill and read as much as you can. Also, listen and respect your parents” — Gary