The Final Countdown
To Comp Sci High: thank you for the unforgettable years. I have gained beautiful lessons I can take with me for a lifetime. All your hard work has shaped my high school experience. From coding skills, to internships, to bigger networks, to special events, to beautiful friendships, to teacher relationships, to a big family. As I leave to embark on my next chapter I carry everything given to me at this school.
Senior Year. When you hear that phrase it's scary but exciting. Parting away from your childhood and becoming an adult. You are bound to start sitting down and reflecting. You have to get the work done because even though you are leaving, you have to leave a legacy behind. The college process, the final memories, the friendships, and all the tests that wrap up senior year. Thanking all the ones that stuck with you throughout is crucial. Here is my appreciation about how the months of my senior year went.
And now, it's the final countdown. The most important countdown you may encounter - the change of a century. As we approach the end of the 2024 school year, my graduation year, taking a trip down memory lane is a must. From the excitement to the nervousness of the first day of senior year to the bittersweet farewells we are approaching. Throughout this article, I will be weaving 24 cherished moments into my journey of the past year.
August/September:
The first month of it all. Walking into the last first day of high school. We all had our fits, excited to see each other again after 2 months. Here goes the first memory, the first day of school. My last first day. So short, yet a long memory in my head. I was happy to be back and live the best of this year. The childhood games we played on August 30th were fun. It brought so much joy. In a way, I feel like it set the tone for our year, a sense of good community. My second memory. Alder’s party. The first time our principal hosted a party. It was so fun and different. Playing cards, eating food, dancing. It was a night to remember. In September we started getting into classes and meeting some new faces. In the classes we all hesitated to get into the work, as we were learning new content already. It was going to get real serious soon and I didn’t even know it yet.
October:
This is where everything started hitting. Two months in, classes were becoming hard, but it also felt like I was getting into how senior year would go. My 3rd memory, college submissions. I recorded all 20 submissions I was blessed to make. This was the start of my future. Even though next year is far, the submissions made it close. Thank you, Mr. Meyers, for all the hard work you did to make many student's futures possible. The 4th memory: Six Flags. My second time going. It was so much fun. To the bus ride, to the real rides, to the scary people at fright fest. It was funny and a great time with my friends. This month was filled with fun, and everything going smoothly and easy. There were also volleyball tryouts. We were about to have a fun team. The 5th memory: our first spirit week, made by senior council. It was so fun watching everyone participate, and the outfits were all creative. This memory, however, is important because it felt like the senior council’s first big success. October was a great month.
November
November was also a chill month. I was still working on trying to understand what is happening in my classes. The trimester was a month out from being done. My 6th memory: my volleyball season. Second year on the team. It was a very hard yet fun season. Playing with some of the same people, and the new additions were nice. There were times when I questioned myself but the support and the sisterhood of the team kept me confident. Love to all the girls on the team.
My 7th memory: senior pictures. Waking up early to go get my makeup done. Putting on my cap and gown made senior year feel more real. Seeing everyone that day was heartwarming and sad, as it hit me that this is really our last year together. The volleyball season was coming to end, and everything felt like it was happening the way it should this month. My 8th memory was made on November 30th: Senior Night. This is a night no senior forgets. Walking into the gym to posters with pictures of our volleyball journeys. It was so bittersweet. The flowers, the balls with mini notes (a well-kept secret), and the posters made my night. Thank you, Coach Marisa and Coach Parcells for all the hard work. I hope the team only gets better and better from here.
December
This month was eventful yet different. It was the end of a trimester, and so much was happening. It was a turn in events I didn’t even know was about to happen. It was smooth in the start. We were done with our first half of the year just like that. My 10th memory: paintball. It was my first time. It was time to target all the teachers. It was fun and I feel like all the people that went also had fun just getting at people. At the end of December, I had some regrets even though I try to have none. Actions were done and things led to other things. I questioned everything, but New Year’s was so close so I said let's start fresh, personally and academically. My 11th memory came in the mail. My first college acceptance with two different scholarships. Not my ideal school but it was great to see. Now it was time to wait for the New Year.
January
This month was rough. Things started to arise. I tend to get told that I see the good in people too much or that I am a people pleaser. This month confirmed that for me. I thought that I was about to gain another friend because I saw the good in people. It hit hard because my actions were not okay, I lost a sense of my character. Being told I never considered the second party, but others saw how I did, and never once had this become an intention of mine. Being told “It won’t come back to you” and “you won’t get in trouble for this” by a trusted friend, and yet my January was the worst. The effect it had mentally for a while was not it, and only my friends can sit and say they know. The lesson learned was that not everyone can be a friend, but also I learned that I have to own up to the damage you do. Thank you to Ms. McNair, Ms. Golden, Coach Johnson, Maty, Humu, Jaria, and Omolola — the ones who stayed with me on the phone after school, and picked me up when it became too much for me. My love for you all will never change no matter how far away we are from each other.
My 12th memory is the leadership summit, which all student leaders got a chance to be a part of. It was a new and interesting experience. Being able to be in a room with both outside leaders an leaders that are in your own school is a blessing. Thank you to Mr. Mosley, Diaz, Smartt, and Coach Johnson for being there that day and really setting the example. Hope you all can have more of these.
February
February everything was getting better. Things started getting put in the past. School started becoming less and less promising. It felt like academically things started going downhill. It got harder and you can’t mess up because colleges are still looking at your grades. My 13th memory is snow tubing. This is my first time doing this too. It was so much fun. This would be one of my core senior year memories. Basketball games were fun to go to. Their senior night also fell this month. It was heartwarming and showed how important building a school family is. My 14th memory was our kickball game because it was the second successful senior council activity. Thank you to Mr. Mosley for all the work he put behind the scenes.
March
Now on to March. 3 Months until graduation! Still just trying to get everything done. My 15th memory is Ramadan. Ramadan brought a lot of people who didn't really speak together. Being in a nice community in school and being told we were building people's confidence was beautiful. I got to see my new house that I am moving into this summer, which motivated me to finish with my stuff faster. This month all college acceptances were coming in. Seeing five rejections in a row de-motivated me all together. I tried to forget it and think that my destiny was just not aligned with those places. My 16th memory was going to Google. It was the second time but it felt different. Talking to some people who worked there gave me a change in a career plan but not fully. I appreciated that opportunity. Thank you to Mr. Paez and Ms. Agrawal.
April
April was a chill month. Just trying to do work after work. The trimester was finishing up soon and everything had to be cramped. Nothing much to this month. The 17th memory was starting my prom dress process. I am making mine from scratch so it was a good experience buying the material to take it to get tailored to seeing the final result.
May
May 1st was the first day of the month, and it was the 18th memory. Commitment day. This is where our next year ‘s step was chosen. It’s a bittersweet moment. Seeing everyone’s posts, and seeing how my middle school friends are going onto their next steps. So proud of all the seniors honestly. This was a hard month honestly. AP tests were happening and it is a month away from graduation so things start to matter less. The senioritis started to hit. Teachers constantly in your ear like “ this is the last of it”, “you have to keep going”. But it was hard, trimester 3. But it’s all coming to an end. So sad at the same time. The 19th memory: Senior ditch day. The teachers were mad about this one but we were happy. Even though I wasn’t able to join the planned skip day, seeing seniors actually come together and make this a well thought out plan was nice. Senior pranks were supposed to be my 20th memory. We had a failed one, but I hope next year's class gives the school something unexpected.
June Loading…
Although the memories are all not here yet, here are some of the ones I am looking forward to. June 5th is the 21st memory — my birthday and the first time I will be performing on the CSH stage. Writing this now was fun and sad because it was our last day of school and the last time dance would be happening on that stage. The teachers also surprised us with a “punishment” for skipping school, which turned into a water fight day. Honestly a very good day. Great job to Mickey for all her work the past 4 years; they have had good shows after and after each other. I hope next year’s shows are just even better. The 22nd memory will be the Senior Dinner. This is the day we will get our awards and get to let everyone know our next steps. The 23rd memory: Prom. AHHH! After being without a prom in 8th grade, it's only right to step out for this one. We are only getting it once in our life. And finally, the last memory of them all: GRADUATION. The day it all ends, the day we have to say our goodbyes. This is the most bittersweet memory of all. I can’t wait to be high school free. Love to all.
To Comp Sci High: thank you for the unforgettable years. I have gained beautiful lessons I can take with me for a lifetime. All your hard work has shaped my high school experience. From coding skills, to internships, to bigger networks, to special events, to beautiful friendships, to teacher relationships, to a big family. As I leave to embark on my next chapter I carry everything given to me at this school. Thank you Mr. Noah. Thank you Ms. Alder. Thank you Chief Kale. Thank you Mr. Meyers. Thank you Mr. Paez. Thank you Ms. Kniesh. Thank you Mr. P. Thank you Ms. Ortiz. Thank you to all the teachers I had the honor to have from 9th to 12th. I can’t wait for my next steps.
Djenabou, signing out!