The Last Week of High School 

The quiet refrain “in the twinkling of an eye we’ll all be gone” has been ringing in the minds of several seniors these past weeks. In a matter of days, 193 seniors from our high school will gown-up for graduation. Amidst the usual year-end humdrum of semester finals and the return of textbooks, the inevitable looms. As they strike off their last APs, their last prom, their last Luau, their last school lunch, and this week – their last Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday etcetera – they know the last day of high school is just round the corner. 

We asked a number of seniors this week for their reflections about their time at SMHS and their feelings during these last days of high school, and this is what they have to say:

From the late nights of studying to the choir concerts to the lunches with my friends, high school has been a roller coaster of emotions. Although I’m sad about closing this chapter of my life, I can’t wait to see what college and the future has in store. – Natalie Chuang

Senior year is coming to an end and I feel bittersweet. I’m excited to see what’ll happen but I’m sad to leave the people I’ve seen for years and it’ll be weird not seeing them everyday. – Cosette Espino 

I’ve been looking forward to graduation since freshman year, but now that it’s finally happening it feels super surreal and a little bittersweet. – Isabelle Kang

I am NOT happy. I will miss the breezeway and the quad and most importantly, seeing my amazing friends – whom I count on to be present without even realizing that I am counting on them. – Thai Villaluna 

I made so many memories in the past four years of high school, so I definitely feel a little sentimental about leaving. – Russell Tsai 

These past 4 years have been the most challenging yet rewarding 4 years of my life. Although I will miss high school, I feel ready to let go and am excited for the next chapter of my life. – Xin Xin Rong

The truth is: ready or not, this safe place where they have belonged for the last 4 years can no longer contain them. And despite all the sentimentality and hesitation they may feel at this point, not a single one of them would want to repeat senior year either. The last 4 years have prepared them for this moment. Stepping forth is the only viable course of action. 

To the graduating class of 2023, the following quote from Dead Poets Society, a movie the Humanities Seminar class watched together last month, is fitting. In the words of Mr. John Keating, “Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? Carpe… Hear it? Carpe… carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.”