Summer has ended - A new school year begins

Danielle Ryan

(9/2010) The time has arrived; a new school year begins. The new school year has come too quickly for both kids and parents.

Most teens dread going back to school because it means going back to school work, tests, homework, and projects that are not at the top of our "favorite things to do" list. Many parents don’t even enjoy this time of the year. For them it means back to school shopping whether it be clothes, shoes, school supplies or all of the above and running their kids to after school activities. Going back to school for me and other high school seniors mean going back to mayhem and chaos as our last year of high school begins.

Many little, easier decisions have to be made before the more challenging and time consuming decisions can be made. Senior pictures and back to school supplies are two of these little decisions. After my senior pictures were taken, my family and I had to decide which pictures we were going to order. With so many to choose from, this was no easy task. As silly as it sounds, we also have to decide what school supplies we want or what shoes and clothes we want for the year. These decisions may not seem that important, but they are some of the small decisions that have to be made before going back to school.

This year, unlike other years, I am actually going to school with a list of things that I need to get on the first day or during the first week of school. I have been told by many family members that I need to walk into school the first day and go to my guidance counselor and ask for college application information, college scholarship information and teacher recommendation forms. After getting all of these forms I then need to proceed to ask teachers of my choice to write a recommendation for me. All of this, as I was told, needs to be done during the first week of school. Talk about a lot of things that need to be accomplished in a very short amount of time!

Accompanying these tasks come the challenges of the class schedule that I have taken on this year. As far as picking classes for senior year there is about a fifty/fifty split of kids who either want to push themselves to take challenging classes their senior year. The other half of the students choose an easier schedule for their last year so their classes during their senior year aren’t so challenging, which allows them to have more time to do what they wish instead of doing school work. Unfortunately I chose the harder path.

As I said earlier, there are college application forms and scholarship forms that need to be filled out during the senior year of high school. I have learned this summer that many colleges like to have applications in as early as possible. Some have said they like to see them coming in as early as September. Scholarship letters are sent in a little later, around November. This means that all applications and letters have to be written and sent out early in the school year. One more thing to add to the list of things to do for senior year.

Not only will my school life change, but my home life will change as well. A chaotic school schedule usually means an even more chaotic home schedule. I will have added homework, projects and college preparation that I will need to do at school as well as after school activities and clubs.

Stresses, homework, and college preparation work comes with my senior year, but excitement also comes with it. My senior year in high school has a lot to offer other than a cramped and loaded-down schedule. There is homecoming, senior prom, senior pictures, football games, pep rallies, parties, friends and one of my favorites: seniority. Seniority in my school actually means a lot to the seniors. We can go to the front of the line during lunch without being yelled at by other students or even teachers. Towards the end of the year many seniors catch "senioritis" as we call it; meaning that we are ready to get out of high school and move on. With "senioritis" comes the little bit of added slack from the teachers because they know that the seniors tend to become anxious by the end of the year.

As you can see, senior year will be full of many tasks that need to be done along with the normal school work that comes with a high school senior’s schedule. This school year will also bring memories, and exciting times that I hope I will be able to take with me throughout the rest of my life.