From here to there

Our memorable timeline leading to senior greatness

by Sarah Torres

It’s that time again where seniors are signing their yearbooks, saying their last goodbyes, participating in their last games, playing in their last band concert, and walking their last steps in La Feria High School. Graduation is just around the corner for the class of twenty thirteen, and we couldn’t be any more ready for it. Now let’s take a look back how our class transitioned from babies to the young adults that we are today.

Entering kindergarten was hard because it was time to leave mommy and daddy and the tears fell down. It was time to begin school with other kids who were strange to us. Nevertheless, we showed up with all our school supplies, found our names on our tiny tables wondering who would be sitting next to us. The first day was the most nerve-racking because of all the unknowns. But all that was soon to change.

Friends were made quickly. Our crayons were picked up, and the ever popular “show and tell” became our favorite lesson. However, nap time was our worst enemy because it was too hard to fall asleep. Recess was our best friend because it was just so much fun to play at the playground and have fun with friends, but sadly kindergarten wouldn’t last forever.

Elementary school soon came along, and it was time to begin growing up into “mature” elementary students. Girls spent recess playing jump rope, and the boys spent it playing kickball. The boys still had cooties though. Spelling lists were now a nightmare, and science experiments became the coolest thing. Homework was a new concept that would stick for a long time.

Our friends came and went as the search for our new best friends began. One of the downsides was the infamous boy-girl seating arrangement during lunch. That could quickly be fixed with bringing lunch to school. Trust me; sometimes it was worth it so we wouldn’t have to sit next to anyone with “cooties.” The separation during recess was also bad because even though boys had “cooties”, we still wanted to play with them because they were entertaining. So with time, the transitions kept coming.

Junior high has now decided to make its grand appearance. Athletics started for many of us, and it was fun to be able to compete with different schools. In elementary school almost everyone was your friend; but when we got to junior high, things changed. There was now that special group of friends where if you were anybody else, you were an outsider. We also loved the new found freedoms where we could go out before the football games with our friends, sit with whomever we wanted during lunch, and it was finally a time we got to go to the movies without our parents. Having a “boyfriend” or “girlfriend” became very “junior high.” Even though this “couple” never really went out on dates, they still were the person you were “going out with.” We’d sit together at lunch and walk to class together. Junior high was the awkward years when boys’ voices started to squeak, acne spread, and the self-consciousness started. Before we knew it, eighth grade graduation came around. It became time to enter the big scary halls of high school.

On the first day of high school, we freshman were lost as the upperclassmen looked down on us and laughed. Teachers became very serious now because “we were the future,” and there was a lot of work to be done. Ironically our freshman year was really fun because we got to experience all the new things as a “highschooler.” We got to build memories with our friends that would last forever. Our sophomore year was kind of a drag, but still fun because it was high school, and there were always things to do.

Not many of us remember our junior year. It was such a blur because there was so much work to be done in difficult classes. We didn’t seem to have a social life at all. All the teachers seemed to talk about was how the “real world” was almost here. By the end of junior year, everyone was excited that we had survived and wanted to enjoy summer vacation, but before we knew it, along came our senior year which seemed to go by way too fast. Football season came and went, then basketball, then soccer, and finally softball and track. U.I.L went faster than expected, and it was gone too along with One-Act Play.

Tears fell as senior tennis players finished their last tournament and realized it was their last time after four long years being on that court. Band, well that seemed to go by so slow the first three years, but the last concert of our senior year was over and done with. The instruments were either put up or sold.

Lastly and most importantly there is college. There is so much work all year long to get applications sent in, applying for scholarships, and worrying about your GPA and ranking till the last minute. Graduation is coming up in a couple weeks, so there’s really no more worrying about college because dorm deposits have already been made and orientation dates scheduled. There are no more games. There are no more concerts. There are no more meets. All of that is all over now. Now it is time to put on caps and gowns, and get ready for that diploma. It is now our turn to grow up. We are the future now.