College Day and Last Day of STaR

HC = Hanover College

As you may tell, the last day of the senior dress up week was college day. I plan on attending Hanover College and my friend is attending Indiana State University. It was a hard decision for me, choosing between DePauw University and Hanover College, but eventually I came to my senses and made a final decision. Now that I have, there is so much weight that is lifted from my shoulders. I discovered 4 of my other classmates are attending Hanover as well, which is exciting because the class size of Hanover is around 1200 students total. Although I am more than excited to be going to college in just a few months, I am also a bit nervous. I have to make a whole new set of friends, take on a harder class load, join new activities, and leave my life at home in Greenwood.

Friday was incredibly sad because it was the very last time our star would ever meet [star is like a 30 minute study period — and by study period I mean goofing around with friends — where the same people stay in the same class for our whole high school career]. These people and I have formed such a close relationship. I remember my first time ever entering my star class. I only had one friend. You really see how our relationship in my star has changed because after the one friend I went into star knowing dropped out of the EC program and switched stars, I still felt comfortable with the other people. At first my star teacher didn’t want us throwing star parties, so we threw a “secret” star party. After that we had parties all the time — and they got better and better throughout the year. We had our last star party on Tuesday, and then we had an ice cream party on Friday. Luckily, nobody cried, but it was very emotional for everyone. Our bond will forever remain strong and to help seal that bond I personalized red dog tags for everyone. Words cannot explain how much I will miss these wonderful, good looking people.

Career Day and Early College Recognition Night

“Bad girl bad girl, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when Sean comes for you?”

 

Thursday’s senior spirit day was future career day. As you can see, I did not take it very seriously (but in my defense, most people don’t). The ironic thing is, the people who know me know I am the least likely to go to jail because I rarely break rules. In fact, it would be more accurate for me to dress up as Hermione, a fictional character, than a jailbird. Anyway, my outfit wasn’t the worst career in the school. One of my good friends was a redneck’s wife, a different friend was a homeless person, and this girl I saw was dressed up as a stripper. It was fun, just like any other spirit day. During star (our 30 minute free period) we had department awards in which each subject department gave away a few awards to students who excelled in those categories. Not thinking anything of it, I end up winning one of the two awards for business student of the year. Let’s just say it was quite awkward when I walked in front of my whole grade to receive my business award, dressed in a jail suit! Everyone laughed though, all in good fun. Plus, it was better than the girl I saw as a stripper who ended up winning an award. I was shocked that I won the award, as there was no way I thought I would be chosen from my whole grade. That is why it came as an even bigger shock when I was chosen again for one of the two Early College awards. There are so many deserving students in Center Grove; I have no clue how they decided I was one of them but I am eternally great flu to both of the awards I received. I cannot express how wonderful it feels to have won 2 awards for working so hard in my classes. I was nominated for three awards by my students peers for an award show I organized called Senior Celebration, but I came in second place for each one. So, now that I have FINALLY won an award after coming in second place all the time, I almost cried (and I rarely cry). It was truly a wonderful day.

But…

…then this happened and the day was even better. Last night was the Early College Recognition Night. It was a night, in which I helped plan, that honored the students of the Early College program for earning college credit from Vincennes University. The students sat on stage and one by one they received their credit hours. My friends gave a heartwarming speech that described how we have become a family. I had the honor of being chosen to introduce the President of Vincennes, which was a huge deal. Then, the 15 students who received their Associates Degree were called up — which for me this was extremely weird because I was graduating from college before even graduating from high school. Afterwards, we watched a video slides how composed of all of our memories over  the past 4 years. I avoided crying at all cost, but it was sad to think that in just one week I would lose them. Overall, the night was one of the highlights of my senior year.

Senior Citizens and Little Kid Day

On Tuesday, the senior spirit day was Senior Citizen Day. All the seniors dressed up in old clothing, brought canes and walkers, and walked real slow. People went as far as wearing wigs, drawing wrinkles, and even stuffing pillows or whatever item they had to make their butt (and for girls also breasts) look massive. One special thing I did was take a pill bottle and fill it with tic tacs and would take my “medicine” throughout the day. The role was topped off with a funny old accent. One of the greatest traditions on senior citizen day is calle the senior sprint. In the morning, all the seniors gather in our main hallway. When there is just a few minutes before class, the senior sprint to their first period class. The new administration tried to stop it because it was too dangerous, but their attempt failed and when the bell rang all of the seniors started sprinting.

Wednesday, all the seniors dressed up as little kids. Whereas yesterday we were limping through the halls as old folk, today we skipped down the halls as our kiddie days. Many Girl Scout vests were dug out and pigtails and overalls were the main trend of the day. People brought in lollipops, stuffed animals, silly hats, but my outfit even included a jump rope, a blue ribboned wand, Barbie band aids on my fringes, and I even went as far as drinking out of a sippy cup all day. The other greatest tradition of senior week is ride your bike to school day. Dressed as little kids, the seniors gathered at our local soccer fields with our bikes. At 6:30, the police escorted us down the main road as we rode our bikes to the high school. My friends and I jammed out to “Bicycle” by Queen and occasionally raced with one another. It was a great way to start off the day, and an even greater memory to add to my high school career.

TOGA TOGA TOGA

Today kicked off senior week, where each day the seniors in our school dress up. Today’s theme: Toga. Toga day is one of the easiest and most popular spirit days to participate in. Not only is it comfortable to wear your favorite bed sheet around the school, but it is also fun to dress up with school friends and enjoy one last week together before graduating. And, although there is a lot on our plate right now, these days give us a little breathing room to enjoy the final days of our senior year.

It is a bittersweet feeling because although I am extremely happy this year is coming to an end, I am going to miss my high school days. There has been so many memories I have gained through the people I surround myself with. The people in these photos are like my family and I am going to miss them to much. But let’s not talk about it. For now, I at least get to enjoy a fun way to kick off the year with my best friends.