Junior year has definitely been one heck of a ride for a lot of us. We as a junior class have had a lot of ups and downs this year. Junior year has brought a lot of memories to Tahoma High School students, however, many are looking forward to a fresh start as they approach senior year.

I created a poll on Instagram asking Tahoma juniors to respond with their favorite and least favorite parts about junior year, as well as what they were most excited for senior year. The poll revealed that juniors were most excited about making new relationships with people and attending/ playing in sports events. As one student responded, “My favorite part was the opportunity to meet new people,” and another responded that her favorite part was “sending the girls soccer team to state with the winning goal.” There weren’t many learning related favorites, as it is common for students to enjoy the social aspect of high school more. Some other repeated answers connected to events that were put on by the school, for example, pep assemblies, prom, and spring break.

As far as least favorites go, these are where the learning related responses became more frequent. Many responded that AP tests, hard classes, the workload, projects and homework, and the SAT were their least liked aspect of junior year. Although tests and school work were definitely hard, one of the hardest parts of junior year was losing some of our own classmates in September. “Losing close friends”, “losing people due to suicide”, and “everything that happened in September” was some common responses relating to the tragedies at the beginning of the year. Over time it has been decreasingly talked about, but many are still struggling with processing everything. That being a constant reminder to always treat your classmates kindly because you never know what they are going through.

As the end of the year approaches, senior year is getting closer and closer. There are many things that Tahoma’s upcoming seniors are looking forward to. These include free periods, senior skip day, applying for colleges, making new relationships, and the most important: graduating, shocker.

“Making the last bit of memories before leaving high school,” as one girl stated, really brings that bittersweet realization that our time at Tahoma High School is nearing its end, so CO’ 2020, let’s make next year the best year we can.