Being a junior is a thing that all the underclassmen dread, at least I know I did. I feared the idea of taking tests that would determine my future, and I was freaking out over the idea of not meeting both my family’s and my own standards, but now that my junior year is nearly over I have found that it was not near as stressful as what everybody hyped it to be. Now that this hard year is over, I can’t stop worrying about what my senior year will have in store for me, or more specifically, what kind of senior I want to be?

A few days ago Mrs. Digmann, the journalism and English teacher here at Alliance High School, proposed this story to me. I automatically thought, “Wow, that’s a perfect end of the year story idea,” but when I got to thinking about what kind of senior I would want to be, I started to come to terms with the idea that I never thought about it. I always assumed I would do the same thing that all of the seniors before me did. I would go to school everyday, do my homework, turn it in on time, and live the life of a carefree student with senioritis. But now I am here facing the reality that there is a single flaw in doing what every other senior before me did; all of the past graduating seniors were differed in they way they acted, excelled, and even dressed in comparison to the previous classes and to the seniors today.

I have a sister who graduated in 2014 and a brother who graduated in 2015, so there is a 3-4 year difference in age between me and my siblings, but I was close enough to them and their high school friends to know that their classes acted a different way than the Class of 2017.

When my brother and sister were in high school, their classes, for the most part, got along and they could all go over to one person’s house and just hang out like they were all best friends. Yes, there was drama, that’s unavoidable, it is high school after all, but they didn’t let the drama affect them, they dealt with it like adults and moved on.

In any class, there are specified “groups” of friends. Some of the most common are those who are into sports, the arts, or band. So, there is no doubt that most students tend to hang out with those who are into the same activities as them, but unlike the students from four years ago, our generation, the Class of 2018, tend to block out almost any other students who aren’t in their “circle”.

Teachers, parents, and even students would admit that the students from a few years ago were not nearly as anti-social as the students of today. They were outgoing and they weren’t afraid to embarrass themselves in front of others.

The Class of 2014, was a more laid back class. They weren’t they loudest class, but they were one of the one of the easiest to be around. They were fairly laid back and they were all pretty close with one another. Despite their more relaxed vibe, they could still have fun and make any event one for the books.

The Class of 2015 were seniors by the time I became a freshman and it wasn’t hard to know what kind of seniors they were, as I grew up with most of them hanging around. They were the best seniors I have personally seen in the high school. They were the kind of people that could make anything fun, they would do their best include you despite who you are or what grade you were in, and they wouldn’t even try to avoid eye contact with you in the hallways. They were the class that restored the Dawg Pound to its former greatness. They were the carefree class.

The Class of 2016 was a smaller class, but with the lack in students, they made up for in the relationships among the students. They were an extremely close class who could often be seen hanging out with one another. They were also known as the smart class as many excelled academically. To be in the top half of the class, a student had to have a 3.5 GPA.

The Class of 2017 was bigger than the Class of 2016, but they were not near as close. Within the tight compacted groups of students, there was often a sort of unspoken competition between many of the students. This year’s class always pushed themselves to succeed rather it be in sports or academics. The students were often seen fighting for the number one spot in an activity, most commonly in sports. They were an extremely motivated and athletic class who wouldn’t give up something they wanted without putting up a fight.

When I listen to the stories from my brother and sister’s time in high school, I can’t help but to envy the kind of people they were then. Next fall, when I return to Alliance High School as a senior, I want to be able to leave my mark on the school and I am sure I speak for everyone when I say this. I want to be as relaxed as the Class of 2014, as carefree as the Class of 2015, as smart as the Class of 2016, and as motivated as the Class of 2017, but I also want to leave my own unique mark. I want to be that senior that can do anything I set my mind to, I want to be able to get along with everyone, and I want to have some teachers and underclassmen bring up some memories of what I did during my time in high school, just as what we do today with the graduated students.

Your senior year is one year that you will remember for the rest of your life. It is the year your adulthood will begin, it will be your first time sending a college application, it will be your time shine and leave your memory behind. I can’t say I know what it feels like to do any of that just yet, but by this time next year, I know I will have tried my hardest to be that fun, carefree, smart, and mature graduating senior. From student to student, I suggest you do the same and use your final year of school to leave the best possible impression of yourself behind. Until next year, SPUD. Have an amazing summer and use it to create a better you!