As seniors at Sentinel prepare for their final months of high school they are also preparing to take a step up in their adulthood. From freshman year to senior year of high school you are able to discover who you are and what you enjoy which I find is a very important influence on your future.

 When I was a freshman in high school I was quiet and stayed inside my little social bubble as well as only having one thing that I found joy in, that one thing being dance. Throughout my first two years of high school I was confident that dance was something that I would do forever and that would be the reason for me to go to college one day. At that time in my life the future felt so far away and the thought of graduating high school so fast never crossed my mind.

 In reality senior year came fast and caught me off guard and the year has gone by fast. In my senior year I have been able to grasp reality and see that dance will not be in my future and I have dealt with ways to be okay with that. I found the most help coping through trying new job professions and leaving my social bubble. Though in the beginning it was scary, it was all worth it and now I am able to see what I want in my future. 

Through my different job opportunities I have learned that I have a strong will to learn more about the world and why it is the way it is. I would have never learned that if I kept dancing. Along with that, I was able to branch out to new people and make new friends. I’m so glad that I was able to make senior year exciting even with the rough spots that eventually turned into life lessons.

A huge influence in my senior year have been my teachers, they have given me confidence in academics while preparing me for college. They have given me opportunities that I would have never been given in previous years and they also gave me a new perspective of highschool. Something that stuck with me from a teacher this year was told; “Never be ashamed of trying” and that will always be a motivation for me and my decisions. 

In my senior year I found that the “hard classes” were worth it. Along with taking the more difficult courses I realized the best way to learn is to branch out and try things that you would normally feel uncomfortable doing. This was the year that I was finally able to speak my thoughts and opinions without the fear of judgment from my peers, that is something that I wish I had learned a lot sooner in high school. 

Throughout high school you deal with judgements from everyone and it gets exhausting and I found that it was hard to challenge others’ ideologies and still be able to have faith in yourself and what you believe in. For me, senior year was my year to achieve my goals due to the fact that my past goals were shot down. For that reason I took more challenging classes, ignored the judgments from others and decided what I wanted. I now know where I am going to college, I have earned scholarships and have earned my family’s support for my decisions. 

All graduates’ decisions are unique to themselves but every graduate has something in common: they will all make drastic changes and will no longer just be a student wandering the halls of their high school. By this time of year for seniors, most of them know where they are going and they are ready to jump into their future even if it is potentially overwhelming. As Taylor Swift said it best during her NYU graduation ceremony; “Scary news is : you’re on your own now- Cool news is: you’re on your own now”(Billboard).

Now that our days as seniors are coming to an end, decisions have been made. After communication with a few of my high school peers and friends I have gathered where some of these graduates are headed after SHS;

Ellyana Tripp- Ellyana is a graduating senior as well as a Spartan Scoop staff member. Ellyana’s plan is to “Figure out what the heck the plan is” while working and staying out of all schools for a while.

Mars Johnson- Mars is a graduating senior as well as a Spartan Scoop staff member. Mars will be attending the University of Montana with a major in music and composition. Along with college plans Mars will continue to write music including psychedelic rock. 

Nora Peragine- (Current Reporter) I will be attending Arizona State University Fall 23 and will be majoring in Political Science and dance. An award I received through high school academics is the Dean Scholarship Award. I am so excited to see what the future holds!

Lily Mchood- Lily is a senior here at SHS who has participated in many athletics including track and field. Lily will be attending Utah State University Fall ‘23 and received the Merit Scholarship Award for Academic achievement.

Zoe Ryan- Zoe, a graduating Senior at SHS, also participated in athletics such as Track and Field. Zoe has committed to attending Washington State University Fall ‘23 and is planning to study business. She has also been awarded the Distinguished Cougar Scholarship Award for academic success.

Ian Harrison- Another fellow graduating student Ian participated in Cross Country along with Track and Field. Ian has decided to attend Montana State University Fall ‘23 and is planning to study environmental engineering.