As the final year of high school rolls in for the class of 2017, the seniors are hit with a wave of realization. This is the last year. This is their last chance. The last time they get to attend the homecoming dance, the last time to cheer on the football team, the last year to try out for a play, to laugh in the halls, to attend a pep rally, to eat in the lunchroom, or to be around the same group of people day after day. This is the last year to be a Leander Lion.

“I’m looking forward to senior year because it’s going to be a grand year,” senior Matthew Kennedy said. “I get to spend one more year with all of my closest friends.”

In some seniors eyes, however, this year isn’t something to treasure. Dreaming of college or other paths, they want nothing more than for this final chapter in their high school lives to be over.

“I’m excited to get out of high school because high school is terrible,” senior Brittany Killens said. “It’s like I’m stuck in a twilight between adolescence and adulthood. People expect you to act like an adult but treat you like a child.”

For seniors involved in extracurricular activities, this is the last time that many of them will get to be a part of an organization, such as cheer or band.

“I’m really excited to spend my last year in high school cheering on my favorite football team with lots of silly and fun girls by my side, ” senior Lindsey Reesa said. “I know that this is an experience I will never forget and it’s something to really hold on to.”

Other seniors who may have regretted not taking part in a lot of what high school has to offer sees this as a year to make sure they experience everything they missed out on.  

“I regret always being too scared to audition for the play and not trying harder,” senior Lily Kubin said. “I could have done it but I got too scared, and now I’ll never know.”

This is the year that the graduating class of 2017 has been waiting for since their freshman years. Now that the three preceding years have passed, a few seniors realize how much they’ve changed since the very first time they set foot on campus.

“When I was a freshman I had to learn the hard way that high school was way harder than middle school,” senior Carson Montgomery said. “I learned over the past four years that it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to get what you want out of high school. Going out and getting what you want really pays off in the end.”