A Walk through the Past Four Years

High School is a time in a student’s life that is full of milestones and new experiences. It’s a time to join a club or try out for that sports team and find out what you are truly interested in and passionate about. As we all know, high school is broken down into four parts: freshman, sophomore, junior and senior year. Each year brings in new challenges and opportunities, some we may forget and some that may stick with us for a lifetime. Here is a timeline of what the high school experience is, all the way up to senior year!

Freshman year is where it all starts, you’re finally moving up and have the whole four years ahead of you. Getting involved in clubs and sports and meeting new friends can be very scary, but looking back as a senior, it is very rewarding. Freshman year is a year of firsts for most people. For starters, it’s a new school filled with new people. In about late September, freshmen get to experience their first spirit week, leading straight up to homecoming. They get to spend the whole week showing off school spirit and end the week getting all dressed up for a night of dancing with friends. Throughout the year, there are freshman events such as Fun Nights, and freshman boot camp. In February, they get an opportunity to interview for a spot in the Academy of Business and Finance, which only a selected few get to experience. As the year comes to an end, regents exams start to roll in- a first for freshman that most probably don’t want to experience, but it’s part of the highschool experience. Freshman year is full of firsts, but it is only the beginning.

As sophomore year starts, you’re still considered an underclassman but you’re no longer the “babies” of the school. You know your way around the school and how things work and can really get into a routine. In my opinion, sophomore year is pretty low key, and doesn’t have too many milestones within it. Don’t get me wrong, though, sophomore year is still filled with plenty of fun! During this time, this is the year most kids turn 16 which means they can go and get their permits! This is big for many kids because it opens up an opportunity for more freedom and responsibility. Although this means they can’t drive by themselves for six months, it gives them much time to get out on the open road and prepare for the day they can go out alone.

Junior year is typically a big year for most students, including getting prepared for college by taking the SAT or ACT and enrolling into AP classes to keep their schedules busy and GPA’s up. Junior year is also when students can enroll into BOCES classes, which gives students the opportunity to get hands-on education to more technical jobs. This is also the year where many students begin to take leadership positions, whether it be captain of a sports team or president of a club. This is a big year for students to excel in, as students are now starting to look into college. Towards the end of the year and over the summer, many students take advantage of college open houses and tours. It’s a year to figure out what you may want to do with your life after high school whether it be college or going right into the career field. To end a stressful year on a high note, for many juniors they get to experience prom for the first time!

Senior year; after 12 years of schooling you’ve finally made it to the home stretch. Senior year is a rollercoaster of emotions of happiness, sadness and so much more. For us a current seniors, this year, this experience was sadly cut short, but that doesn’t mean that the time we did have wasn’t spectacular. With all the firsts that seniors get to experience, there are also a lot of lasts. For this year, it is students’ last homecoming and spirit week, they experience their last game and club meeting, take a final bow and say goodbye to their friends and teachers getting prepared to go to their next chapter of life. But within this time, as well, seniors are applying to college for the first time, and experiencing the thrill of getting accepted and the pain of being rejected. Making a college decision can be stressful but in the end, very rewarding. For the class of 2020, senior year has been cut short which is devastating but that doesn’t take away from all the good that has been the last four years of high school!

Each grade level experiences different challenges and has a different set of obstacles.. But this “timeline” is what makes up a student’s high school experience. It has changed us into who we are today and has made us stronger. Now onto the next chapter.