Seven semesters down and one to go. January 23, 2017, marked the first day of the Arrowhead seniors’ last semester of high school.

Emma Cholip, an Arrowhead senior, says, “It feels incredible but incredibly stressful at the same time. I am so relieved to be almost done with all my classes but at the same time I know I have to stay on track because I can’t just start failing all my classes. I never imagined senioritis would feel like this, it’s a bit strange because it’s not so much the idea of not wanting to come to school, but more so the idea that I’m ready to move on to a different, bigger, and better school.”

Oldine Paulsen, an Arrowhead senior says, “I feel excited [to graduate] because I want to get out of high school already. I’m over the drama and learning things that I’m not even going to need in college.”

Danielle Quast, another Arrowhead senior, says, “Honestly being so close to the end of high school is pretty bittersweet. On one hand, I get the opportunity to go to college, meet new people, try new things, and start a life for myself. But on another hand, I’m going to miss being able to see my friends daily. Sure, I’m going to meet new people, but I’m going to miss being able to see my friends in my classes, or being able to go to their houses.”

In school, every student is likely to have an aspect that wasn’t his or her favorite. As a senior year comes to a close, seniors reflect back on all those not so favorite times.

Paulsen says, “My least favorite part was sophomore year and every second semester. Everything was so boring and I don’t like change.”

Cholip says, The competition, by far. I understand competition can be healthy and it gives many students a drive to be better, it even works for me. But the idea of everything being so competitive and having to be the best at everything was so draining to me. It was always Arrowhead’s main priority. It’s nice to win and be a champion, but sometimes it’s nice to just have fun and not worry about the final score or grade.”  

Quast says, “I would have to say my least favorite part of high school was having to wake up an hour earlier than I did for middle school. I need sleep, and the fact that I would be given hours upon hours of homework that forced me to stay up until midnight didn’t help this.”

Alexandra Ruckstadter, an Arrowhead senior, says, “My least favorite part about high school was the demand to stay ahead of the curve. I was always told to get ahead, you have to work ahead. So I worked hard and will start college three credits short of finishing my freshman year.”

With senior year half over, some seniors feel nostalgic and remember  their favorite parts of high school.

Paulsen says, “My favorite part of high school was WINGS during freshman year. I got to be hypothesized, made food, and ice skated. I got to figure out what high school might be like before the semester started. I would also say making new friends along the way.”

Quast says, “My favorite part of high school was meeting new people. In middle school, I had a hard time making friends, but when high school came around, I was able to meet so many new people. I was given more freedom in high school. I was no longer treated like a child. Because of this, I was able to learn life lessons and mature. This will help me as I continue onto college.The best memories that I made were after the final bell rang every day. Going to sporting events, supporting my friends in their activities, joining clubs…When I will look back on high school in the future, I won’t remember the lessons taught or the grades given, I will remember laughing with my friends at lunch, or forming relationships with my teachers and peers.”

Ruckstadter says, “My favorite part was learning how to be confident. I was probably one of the quietest kids freshman year, and I always worried about getting called on in class. It taught me that I wasn’t an inconvenience, and that there was no reason to be nervous. It was a good feeling.”  

Cholip says, “My favorite part of high school has always been and always will be being in the plays and going to clubs. It’s nice to be able to enjoy a high school setting but not have to deal with the strain of homework tests. I’ve been a part of these groups since my freshman year and I really took a liking to them. Especially being in the Drama Department, that place was my home away from home for the past four years. I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”

Each day that passes is closer to the end of high school.

Cholip says, “I wish I would have looked into the classes available to me more. There are so many awesome classes that are available to take at Arrowhead and some of them were quite boring and I wasn’t very interested in. Obviously I won’t list those classes because that was just a personal opinion of mine, and I know of many people that enjoyed those classes. For me, I wish I would have taken other classes that I knew I had an interest in. I think it would have amped up my enjoyment during those beginning years.”

Ruckstadter says, “I would change my bad procrastination habits, and I would stay away from some people I didn’t realize at the time were bad for me.”  

Paulsen says, “If I could change anything about high school, it’s freshman year. I wish I could change what I thought about people. People who weren’t popular I was like I hope no one sees me hugging this person and over time I thought, my friends are my friends. Who cares what people think about them and me? And I’m glad I changed my thinking, otherwise I wouldn’t be as close as with some of the people I am today.”

Quast says, “I am pretty content with my high school experience. I was able to have four years of smiles, tears, laughs, friends, hard work, and love. I made mistakes and learned from them, there is nothing I would like to change. If I changed anything, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”

Seniors also reflect upon high school through thoughts and feelings.

Ruckstadter says, “High school gets a bad rep because it’s too hard, but adults say that it’s the easiest thing you’ll do. So it’s difficult to do something so hard while being told that it’s so easy for so long without getting discouraged.”

Cholip says, “High school is an experience, so I want to urge everyone to do just that. Take the reins and do everything you can, the years fly by. It doesn’t seem like it at first, but I’m graduating in a few months. It feels like only a week ago I was walking into Arrowhead for the first time. Take every interesting opportunity you get, it’s always worth it.”

For seniors, high school is coming to a close. As for the juniors, Paulsen says is, “SENIORITIS is real so be careful.”