Walking into the New Year can be like starting life with a clean slate. Resolutions are made and the new school semester rolls into place. Everyone is fresh with rest from winter break and ready to get back into routine. But, along with a new semester, the impending close of high school grows nearer. 

Simultaneous to a new beginning there is an end drawing near. When questioned about their feelings on the New Year, a sophomore student explains, “I’m scared because I’m worried about how it’s going to play out.” This common perception is valid, because anything ahead is completely unpredictable, much like falling into a black hole filled with the unknown.

Many students struggle to re-establish the habit of getting up early and tackling a heavy workload when they return from break. “It’s like a sudden bucket of stress they throw at you after you’ve been calm for a while,” the sophomore student says, “but at the same time my procrastination is at its peak.” However, students

must return to their normal routine as soon as possible due to the importance of this semester, as the grades at the end of the semester are the final grades for the school year. Students’ grades will have an impact on the years ahead because they will determine classes next year or what college they are planning on attending, if that is their intention.

Students these days are starting to go through recommendations for next year, so the nerves are piling up and students are begging for advice from whoever is willing to listen. Seniors are getting close to graduation and are committing to colleges or are preparing for their life out of high school and going into the career world. Nico Donjuan-Calderon, a senior, expresses, “I am excited to become independent, but I’m not excited to leave the community here, I’m too attached to everything right now” Many seniors sympathize with Donjuan-Calderon as students make a place for themselves in high school. They’ve all adapted to a certain atmosphere with certain people and now that is about to be erased they find it more endearing than overbearing.