Senior Year: A year of Lasts
-Emma Brown

Senior Year - It always felt like such a far away place. Something almost unattainable. Yet, this past month, I started it. The unimaginable, far away idea that felt almost unreal. It’s a year of lasts, a year of nostalgia, a year of memories. The year of bittersweet. A place where I’ve spent seven years of life, and in May, I’ll be gone.

 People I’ve known since sixth grade will be scattered all over the country, maybe even the world. Some I’ll miss, others I might not even remember. A hundred kids in the class of 2026 will walk out the doors of Mount Saint Charles Academy, possibly for the final time. The last time the entire class will sit in the same room together. It’s weird, like a time paradox. It feels like it was yesterday I walked into sixth grade, but it feels like I’ve been in high school for five years.

I think the hardest part of Senior year is the sports season. Saying goodbye to your team, your coach, and the many memories you make over those four years of playing. Maybe even more than four years. Every year, I watch the different teams on senior nights give their seniors flowers, with tears in their eyes. The coaches recall memories of meeting them, watching them grow over years, improving both in their skill, and as a person. I never realized what that might feel like. Hearing your coach make a speech that’ll make you cry, hugging your younger teammates goodbye, even though you’ll see them in halls next week. Wondering how it feels to play that last game. To know that this final game is your last night to play what you love.

Senior Year. It’s the year of last times. The year of memories. So, to the class of 2026, let’s make it count.