Seniors and freshmen are at two distinct stages in life. Both will take on opportunities and regrets. While the new breath of freedom for freshmen makes them eager for their high school journey, seniors are anxious to be thrown out into real life.
Having a lot more freedom coming into high school allows freshmen to pursue goals that they could not have achieved back in middle school.
East Meck holds such a diverse collection of clubs and activities, ranging from playing basketball to crocheting. This allows for freshmen to gain an idea of what they desire and may pursue outside of high school.
“I want to make all the boards like freshman and sophomore,” freshman Tyler Nixon said. With a strong desire to be a leader, he decides that the board will be the best place for his talents.
Many freshmen are excited to have the opportunity to grow socially and academically beyond what was possible in middle school. Freshman Ella Mitchell is ready to do both. Mitchell is highly anticipating socializing with the new crowd of students at East Meck. Mitchell also has high standards for herself academically.
“I would say [I want] at least a 4.0 GPA by the end of highschool,” Mitchell said. Mitchell is grateful to have the guidance of her older sister, junior Sophia Mitchell. Following in her sister’s footsteps, she wants to leave her own mark on East.
Freshmen are also interested in community service. Helping out the community is a lot of work, but freshman William Sheldon is up for the task.
“I want to help others and make my community better,” Sheldon said.
Freshmen are full of hope starting their high school journey, but seniors are dealing with the pressure that comes from their teachers and parents expectations.
“I feel like teachers, or my parents expected me to grow up, you know,” senior Nicole Rivas said. Many seniors feel that teachers expect them to act like adults, even though they are still teenagers. They still have to go to school, live with their parents, and are not financially independent yet.
“I want to be me but not growing up,” Rivas said.
Even though they have many stressors, many seniors are still hopeful as they make plans for the near future. Some want to have a gap year and others want to go straight to college and get a degree.
Senior Christian Olguin plays varsity soccer and wants to continue playing in college.
“I’ve already started talking to colleges about it,” Olguin said.
Looking back on their journeys, many seniors have some regrets about their high school experience: not taking the right classes to raise their GPA, letting others influence their choices, or not going to all the school events while they had plenty of time as a freshman.
Even though seniors are ending their high school journey and freshmen are just beginning, they are both excited for their futures.
