As the sun begins to set on this school year, it is natural for students to start looking back on the happenings of this chapter of their lives. While everyone has had a different experience this year, reflection is an important part of development as we grow. With the stress and pressures of school and social demands, it can be easy to forget that these memories will be the ones that we look back on after we all go our separate ways.
“Something I really wanted when going into high school was to make a lot of memories and I think I’ve done that,” junior Sarron Amsalu said.
“When I look back I can see that I had a really great time with all the friends I made and that I had an impact on the band and my classes and my community “
Everyone’s school year experience is widely different, although we all have one thing in common. That is, the prospect of growth.
“[This year I learned] how to better spend my time at school,” Amsalu said.
“I learned later in the year that it’s easier for me to wake up in the morning to study and not at night”
The changes that we endure throughout our high school years can be small habits that change our perspective, or big decisions that influence our futures.
“[This year] I learned that I like to help people,” Julian Barboza said. “Which drove me to choose a career choice based around that…I’m thinking of being maybe an EMT or a firefighter or something like that.”
Whether it be academic, personal or social development, these are the happenings that shape us into the person we are, and the people we will become.
“I think what I will remember most [about this year] is the people I’ve met and the new friendships I have made, but also how I’ve become as a person,” freshman Bella Creech said.
“I’ve become more self aware and am much better at knowing that what’s gonna happen is gonna happen”
Despite the ways we grow, another universal experience woven into the high school years is regret. Though, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. Fear of the regret we once experienced can push us to work harder for the things we are passionate about.
“I wish I had joined more engineering classes,” sophomore Tarun Vankamamidi said. “experiencing robotics made me realize engineering’s really fun and I like building with my hands”
Our regrets can also be lessons for the new generations. Perhaps our experiences can guide them and show them what mistakes not to make when the time comes.
“I wish I had done extracurriculars more at the beginning of the year,” Creech said.
“I should have gone to more football games, joined more clubs, things like that”
Barboza has a word of advice for the younger generations.
“Don’t slack off your freshman and sophomore year,” Barboza said.
“I know they say junior year is most important but if you don’t do anything your freshman year then its like youre starting with your wrong foot in”
Whether you’ll remember highschool as “the good old days” or as merely a stepping stone in your path to success, there is value in everyone’s experience. At this point in our lives, many of us are eager to move on and experience something new; but, no matter where you came from, or where you are going, it is likely that Vandegrift had some impact on you.
“I really love Vandy,” Creech said.
“it’s just a really good school there is so many opportunities for everybody and there’s always something for you”
