What does it mean to be a senior? Sure it’s the amount of years in school or the amount of credits earned but what else? As I look at the graduating class, at those I’ve just passed in the halls and those I’ve formed relationships with, there is a distinct difference between them and my class.

Seniors seemingly have everything together by graduation, but what got them there is what the class of 2019 needs to figure out soon. Sure, asking questions like ‘what do we want to be when we grow up?’ or ‘what life do we want to live?’ should have prepared us for this moment but I’m not so sure the majority of us are.

We should have figured it out by now, but let’s face it most of us have no clue. We need to realize that if we don’t start preparing soon we’re going to be in big trouble. As soon as senior year begins so do our countdowns; the countdown to graduation is exciting, but countdowns are also deadlines.

We need to turn in applications and assignments, and attend interviews and college visits, all while also keeping our class grades high. Just because we might have been successful thus far doesn’t mean now is the time to start slacking off. Senior year will place more responsibility on us as a class and we need to be able to step up to the stage when our name eventually gets called.

Being a senior doesn’t just mean getting serious, we still need to relish in our last year in high school. We need to spend time with those that will eventually could be thousand of miles away while also creating memories that will make us want to look back at times in high school in a positive light.

Getting stressed about the future will not help anyone graduate, its finding the balance between the seriousness and enjoyment that is important. As the class of 2019 counts down to our turn as seniors, we need to look to the class of 2018 who are currently making the most of their countdown to graduation.  

Walking into the building on the first day of school, it’s clear who the seniors are. They walk with heads high and ooze confidence. They have dealt with success and failure, gains and losses all while completing the daily tasks of being a Wildcat calls for.

This year’s group of seniors have created a legacy that will be left lingering in the halls of West long after their painted bricks have been repainted over. I wonder how my class would have handled the challenges the class of 2018 has endured and if we too would be emerging as graceful on the other side as those before us. As this class graduates, the class of 2019 has to look at ourselves and accept what it mean to be a senior as those before us have done.