A Decade Later

Seniors. That very word depicts a feeling of maturity, of youth coming to a close. Being a senior in high school is a time of realization, when the pressures of the last four years fall away, and you start integrating to yourself into society. Some teenagers who reach their Senior year have begun working, experiencing life outside of only parents and peers. Others may find themselves at a fork in the road: should I go on to college, take a gamble and spend four plus years under the thumb of men and women who drill me with knowledge, of should I take a more direct and risky route by going for my dreams as a fresh-faced, if a little naïve, eighteen-year-old?

I am not a senior; I am a Junior who has hopped from schools in a handful of states, befriended Freshmen and Seniors both, and I have finally come to this conclusion: I do not want to be a Senior. The pressure they feel, the fact that their life at home, their life with the friends they have to day, has an impenetrable expiration date. Sure, the school system tries to make its sharp nudge into the cold, brutal world slightly more comfortable by showering us with diplomas and special end-of-the-year, 0ne-last-hoorah type dances. But the fact of the matter is, Senior year is not the cake walk most Seniors with a light course load seem to be dealing with. Senior year is about growing up, moving on, being on your own, and personally, I feel that Senior year would be my toughest year even if Seniors were not given Math homework or countless essays.

When did we get this old? I understand that the majority of society looks down at us as clueless adolescents, interchangeable with infants and toddlers, but the fact is, we have lived seventeen long years. And every year, we have new classes, new friends; every few years, we have to integrate ourselves into a new school; and even though we fall into routine, routine never lasts more than a few months. How do we do it? While some adults are homeless or still living with their parents, not knowing what tomorrow will bring, the majority of adults have a synchronized routine that they fall on a daily basis.

What scares me the most about being a Senior is that there are no more steps to adult hood. Until now, we have taken every opportunity we can to be adults: getting a summer job, buying a car, even simple things like shopping alone. But once we get into Senior year, us students know that it is the last step. Yes, hopefully the majority of us will be going to college, but even if we merge with higher-education, we will be adults. Senior year, we are the personification of our schools. Senior year, we have to start realizing how we want to contribute to our society. The clock is ticking, and while I don’t know how I will be like April 13th, 2011, I know that my days of dependency will be numbered.