Changes on the Road to Senior Year

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Seniors leaving their marks (Photo Taken by Felicia Soderberg)

High school is made up of four years that seem to drag on forever, but somehow it flies by all too fast. Most of the time, the upperclassmen are too busy just getting through the weekday deadlines, living for the weekends, and looking ahead to their futures to stop for a second and realize how quickly the time passes.

However, as another quarter starts to wrap up and with graduation lurking  just around the corner for the senior class of 2017, the realization of how quickly it all happened starts to hit. Many of the seniors are reflecting back on the transition from freshman to senior year and are realizing just how much they’ve evolved as a person since they first stepped foot onto the UAIS hallways.   

Freshman, sophomore, and junior year of high school are full of their distinct milestones. A student might not realize while they are going through it, but one can experience subtle or drastic changes throughout their four year span of high school. Sometimes that change is a positive in which it can benefit that student in the long run, but sometimes it is the other way around. Most of the seniors concurred that their transition changed them for the better.

Senior Jennifer Yoo: “The most significant change I have underwent is overcoming my fear of public speaking.”

During the start of high school leading up to senior year, Jennifer Yoo has changed from a shy wallflower to a more confident young woman. “The most significant change I have underwent is overcoming my fear of public speaking,” addressed Jennifer. Reviewing back to freshman year, Jennifer accounted her fear of speaking amongst her peers. She dreaded the idea presenting speeches in front of  her peers as it was nerve racking. However, as the years went on, she was able to become more socially comfortable through the immersion of socratic discussions and presentations. Being exposed to all those circumstances allowed her to “become more open to [her] classmates and teachers”. 

The period between freshman year and senior year allows  students to explore new interests through sports, clubs, and classes. Several of the upperclassmen were able to gain meaningful leadership experience through their extracurriculars.“I was also able to gain leadership experience through my involvement in clubs by demonstrating commitment and following my passion,” Jennifer Yoo further discusses.  She advises other high school students who are seeking for leadership opportunities to commit to their passion and to find a way to put that interest into practice.

Kassandra Christodolu: “One thing I think that has changed the most from when I was a freshman is that I have a stronger work ethic.”

 

Making the transition from freshman to senior year can be an exciting yet difficult process. However, several of the senior students admit that being in this challenging situation had allowed them to learn valuable lessons in many aspects. For instance, Senior Kassandra Christodolu was able to build a strong work ethic as the workload increased and the coursework became more rigorous. “One thing I think that has changed the most from when I was a freshman is that I have a stronger work ethic. It was through cultivating self-discipline, developing good time management skills, and staying balanced that has allowed me to solidify this,” confesses Kassandra.

Senior Motloch: “Get comfortable with knowing how to prioritize and getting all of their work done.”

One of the significant changes Senior Tori Motloch has personally noticed in her senior year is being more prioritized. “Everyone claims and insists that junior year is the toughest but I found that the beginning of senior year is by far the hardest. It’s when all the due dates start hitting so there was more to get done. Like for example, the orals, IOC’s etc. So as a growth experience, I had to prioritize more,” noted Tori. She advises to the incoming the freshmen to get comfortable with knowing how to prioritize and getting all of their work done efficiently because learning these things would help them immensely in the future.  

Hannah Paul: “You have to start acting more like an adult and doing things on your own.”

Senior Hannah Paul professes that high school has forced her  to grow up despite how much she tried to fight it. “You have to start acting more like an adult and doing things on your own. Like for college application, you have to start worrying about the things you do now and how they will affect you in the future.” 

It is crazy to look back and reflect on one’s progress since freshman year and to realize that the way they  approach and perceive things in the beginning can completely evolve. It is even crazier to think that one will continue to grow in the future years in ways that they can’t guess since life is all about constant and inevitable change.