by Miela T.
It’s that time of year once again where graduation is coming up fast and mixed emotions are filling the halls of Mountain Range High School. It’s finally time for the class of 23 to experience their last semester of high school and a lot of students have different ways that they are preparing for graduation.
Seniors are trying their very best for the last semester of high school to figure out a plan and what to do in order to prepare for their next steps into the real world. Some of them feel like they have things figured out while others are begging for time to slow down.
Some students aren’t entirely sure how to prepare for graduation while others don’t feel the need to at all. Elle Inman states that “I’m honestly not really doing that much to actually get ready for graduation. It’s more that I’m excited to graduate and I feel ready to go rather than I’m preparing to leave.”
Other seniors throughout the school are working hard in order to finish out their high school year strong. Zoe Gardner states that “I want to graduate feeling confident about my performance in my education. All that I’m really doing to prepare is working hard in my last few classes and making it through with good grades.” And others agree with her.
Delainey Davidson states “I’m trying to finish out my last few classes strong. I’m really focusing on my grades right now.”
Though there are many ways that the seniors are and aren’t preparing, some of the students claimed that they feel ready to graduate but not ready to let go of the high school experience. Emily Dunn states that “If I’m being honest I have been doing nothing to prepare because I’m ready to graduate but I’m not ready to be completely done with high school. I feel like saying goodbye to this school won’t be very hard, but it’s just going to be weird not seeing my friends every day.”
Even more students agree with the idea that they are holding onto their friends and relationships more than school. Maddison Kumnick states that “I guess I’m just trying to spend as much time with friends and family as I can. I really want my last semester of high school to be fun and less stressful. I finally have that privilege being a senior now to take it easy for this last semester.”
The class of 23 seems to be an important aspect of this school to a handful of teachers and students since they were here for the start of COVID 19 their freshman year. Time passed fast for the class of 23 and it’s hard since some feel like they were robbed of part of high school. “I mean it’s weird. We went through COVID at the end of freshman year and now at the end of the semester we are graduating. How would anyone prepare for that?” Arianna shares. “It just reminds me how fast time is flying.”
Finally some seniors seem to be more focused on their reputation and what they leave behind rather than leaving the school. Maggie Ketchel states that “I’m not preparing for college in a way that you would expect but I am preparing for my last months at school. Got to get the fits down. I want to find my passion for fashion before college so I can go in with confidence. Focusing on the real world type of stuff.”
Throughout a mix of responses and emotions, it’s clear that senior graduation is coming up fast. Seniors this year will be getting out of school on May 10th and graduation will take place on May 16th 2023.
There are a handful of questions about what will happen to the seniors that are moving onto the real world. School has tried its best to prepare these students for graduation since 2005 and now it’s finally here as our seniors go through their last semester, for better or worse.