Second semester: Stopping to smell the roses

The bleachers rattled, the gym echoed, and colorful poster boards waved through the air. The electric atmosphere became a backdrop for one of the most memorable nights of high school, and it all happened on a Tuesday night.

The day of the week may seem trivial, but after spending almost all of our weeknights for the last three and a half years finishing homework assignments or cramming for the next day’s exams, being a part of senior nights, and other quintessential high school moments, suddenly outweighed losing a couple hours of work time. And it was a direct result of second semester seniorhood.

As a class we’ve notoriously flooded ourselves with academic competition, both in and out of the classroom. But over the course of the last couple of months, we’ve finally taken the time to step back and enjoy the moments of high school we’ll actually remember. Easily the most rewarding part of finally being a second semester is not the (theoretical) decrease in workload and academic pressure, but the result of those changes.

As we’re checking out of classes, we’re checking into each others’ lives. We’re spending our time after school attending games and performances and just enjoying each other’s company. Some people are making up for lost time, while others are just savoring last chances, but regardless of motive, we, more than ever, are supporting one another, engaging outside of the classroom, and solidifying relationships we could maintain for years after graduation.

On top of that, we’re coming together to do so. The walls between friend groups are coming down and we’re moving away from being just parts of a whole toward becoming an actual collective whole. We’re finally experiencing the class bond that we’ve admired in so many graduating classes before us.

Realistically, May 23 will be the last time we’re all together as a class. Sure, we’ll keep in touch with close friends but there will certainly be people we never see again. We’ll more than likely never get the same vibe we have when we’re screaming on the field during rallies, laughing about our fifth grade show during class meeting, or hanging out in shah between classes.

This may all be just side effects of subconsciously donning our rose-colored goggles, but with 70 days till graduation, reveling in nostalgia is definitely justified. We should be taking advantage of all the last moments we have to enjoy being high school students.