Ready WA Storyteller Alice B. Reflects on Saying Goodbye to Seniors and Stepping Up as One

By Ready WA Storyteller Alice B.

It’s that time of year again. That time when seniors graduate and officially start their lives as adults.

But, for the rest of us, this is the time of year to step up. That moment when the torch gets passed on to the next year of students, rising through the ranks of the school system. Why, then, does it feel so fleeting?

As I get ready for my senior friends to graduate, I realize that this week is probably the last time I will ever see most of them. Sure, some might come back to events at the school or may stay in the community, but they won’t be that constant presence of elder leadership that they were. That will be us. The Juniors.

These people whom we’ve looked up to our whole lives as friends, colleagues, and mentors; whom we’ve trusted to show us the ropes; who we’ve thought would always be that comforting entity of continuity in our tumultuous teenage lives, are leaving.

For me at least, many of these seniors I’ve known for the past 5 years. All the way from middle school up to this final moment. I can’t help but feel like I’ve been left at the docks while their boats sail away to a bright future on the horizon. I will miss them so much.

And yet, at the same time, we Juniors have no time to mourn the loss of company. As we approach our own senior year, we need to take up the mantles of responsibility that the graduates have left us, start applying for colleges or trade schools, and teach those under us what we were taught. It all snowballs into something surreal. Not daring to look back to see how far you will have come until it comes crashing into you when you finally do graduate.

Despite the wistful feelings accompanying the change in my life right now, having some of my friends graduate has helped motivate me to action for the next year. I have been doing much more college prep and application work: filling out forms and taking tests, in anticipation of the fall wave of deadlines.

Seeing my friends get into good schools has shown me what is possible and helped inspire me to strive for greatness myself. I’ve seen how hard they worked and know that it won’t be easy, but it can be done.

So, as I prepare for my senior year, I have taken up officer positions, researched colleges, visited colleges, and taken the SAT. I have started cataloguing the hours for my community service seal and made sure that I have done enough for my community to make me a good candidate for scholarships. Some teachers have even started offering to write letters of recommendation for scholarships or otherwise!

In addition, as residents of Washington State, we all have to have High School and Beyond Plans. I have learned from the mistakes of many seniors over the years, and have decided not to wait until the last second to do all my lessons and finish my resume (a requirement for graduation at my school). This has helped me not only remove more stress from my life in the present by using time given in class for these lessons, but also remove stress from my future, as now it is one less thing to worry about!

Moving into the next year is going to be a big change: more than it was in the past. Anything you can do to prepare in advance and minimize the future wave of deadlines and work that you know you will have to do will save you a lot of grief in the future. And so, don’t wait to start writing college essays! Summer is the perfect time to do that because you don’t have other assignments piling up and can take all the time you need. Additionally, apply for summer internships! If you already have a strong idea of what you want to do, internships are a great way to get your foot in the door of your future career path.

The point is, don’t wait for the future to come to you —as tempting as it may be to take your last summer to relax— take measures to set yourself up for success. I know it can be hard to assume responsibility, especially when there has always been that older figure at the top of the school’s hierarchy, but now it is our time to shine. We need to accept that we are going to be the role models for future classes and meet that challenge with pride. Don’t waste your summer or your senior year. It’s your last chance to prepare for adulthood.