Senior Walk
August 17, 2020
Students in the class of 2021 are all asking the same question: What is our senior year going to look like? I have only found one answer: different. As a class, students have watched the classes before us participate in senior traditions that all seem like a hopeless wish in this day and age. Although this will be a year like no other, that’s the beauty of it.
Previous “Senior Walks” have started on the first day that the class wears their senior shirts to school, but the class of 2021 did not experience that day in May. For our class, the special class that we are, I will document the traditions that we do get to enjoy starting in August.
Here’s to never taking things for granted. Here’s to taking every available opportunity. Here’s to senior year. Here’s to the class of 2021.
Chalk-full of senior traditions
Senior Victoria Wiest decorates a parking spot with chalk on the Sunday before the first day of school. This day marks the beginning of the class of 2021’s last year at Starr’s Mill.
On the day before the school year started, seniors gathered in small groups and chalked their parking spots. Students found inspiration for their art in various ways. Whether they used Pinterest to find a design to recreate, or they came up with their design on their own, the decorated spots were all unique in their own way.
“I chose ‘this is rad bro’ because I say ‘bro’ a lot and I feel like it really fits my personality,” senior Emily Stackhouse said. “I’m trying to keep a positive mindset for senior year, so I’m saying it’s going to be rad.”
The colorful parking lot does not just show the artistic ability of students, but it also represents the beginning of the end for the class of 2021.
As well as decorating parking spots, many seniors choose to decorate their cars. Many of the designs include blue, black, and white paint used to display the word “senior” in addition to lines, dots, and stars.
As this was the first of many senior-specific traditions, seniors look forward to the potential to have as many other senior moments as possible.
[A]lthough we cannot be together all the time, we are still all in this together.
— Editor-in-Chief Mary Jane Gagliano
“I hope we get to do a lot of traditions that other seniors have done, but also I understand that with the coronavirus it’s going to be different,” senior Erika Thomsen said. “I’m just hoping for a fun year.”
In spite of the senior tailgate being cancelled, seniors are still full of pride as they enter the halls of Starr’s Mill on their last first day of school. The togetherness brought by the synchronized senior shirts, reflects the fact that although we cannot be together all the time, we are still all in this together.
The start of the year is always exciting, but for the senior class, it is extra special. The memories the seniors make throughout this next year will be the stories that are told for generations to come.
The last homecoming
Homecoming king and queen, seniors Aiden Hammond and Jaci Edwards, pose for a photo after being crowned. This year’s homecoming has certainly been different, but the senior class tried to make the most out of every moment.
For the class of 2021’s final homecoming, things looked quite different. With only two dress up days, no homecoming parade, and no homecoming dance, we had to make the most of every moment that we got to enjoy.
On the first dress up day, seniors got to dress up as the decade they have been looking forward to for the last three years: the 80’s. Neon flooded classrooms and ‘80s music filled the halls as seniors strutted down the red carpet.
“I loved dressing up for homecoming because it felt like we were still able to keep some traditions alive,” senior Kelly Fox said. “I was especially excited that I could still dress up for ‘80s day because I’ve waited three years to wear all of the bright colors.”
For the second dress up day, seniors wore togas to keep up with the senior tradition. Although the official dress up theme was character day, seniors took the theme into their own hands to celebrate their last homecoming.
On Friday night, the football team played a close game with Harris County, winning 14-10. At half time, the homecoming court took the field. Seniors Aiden Hammond and Jaci Edwards were crowned as king and queen of the court.
“I was genuinely so surprised, and I am so thankful to be crowned homecoming king,” Hammond said. “It’s a moment I will never forget.”
Although homecoming was different this year, seniors tried to make the most out of their last high school homecoming.
The completion of fall semester is both a happy and a sad milestone for seniors. It flew by as students were on hybrid schedules and were quarantined for weeks at a time. Seniors are now preparing to enjoy the last semester of their high school careers and the future that lies beyond.
First semester zooms by (haha … quite literally)
We have made it to the end of the first semester. Was it not Aug. 17 yesterday? It went as quickly as it came, and the time will only pass by faster from here on out.
Between the hybrid model of learning and students being quarantined for two weeks at a time, it really has not felt like we have had a full semester. That, of course, causes seniors to have mixed emotions.
[T]he time will only pass by faster from here on out.
— Editor-in-Chief Mary Jane Gagliano
On the one hand, senioritis has been ever-present since, well, March 13. Looking forward to the experiences and the excitement that comes with college and the future makes us want to get out of ‘The Bubble’ as fast as possible.
With every college acceptance and future opportunity that has arisen, we can be proud of the hard work that we have put into the last seven semesters of high school and get ready to open our lives to the next chapter.
However, we are seven-eighths of the way through high school. It’s a sad thought knowing that in just one more semester we will be saying goodbye to all of our friends and leaving the place that we’ve called home. Every “last” that we have experienced throughout this semester have reminded us of the reality that we are leaving, and that is sad.
In our final semester, may we celebrate the little moments, savor the time we get in class, and live life to the fullest. It is our last chance to be young, dumb, and broke high school kids, so why not?