Many high school students have returned to school this week, with contrasting feelings going into Winter Break and being welcomed back, seniors have taken their opinion to the online platform TikTok expressing that Winter Break felt like they had graduated, with a new beginning in the second semester, time will tell how seniors develop to the new year and if the stressful demands follow them.
The first semester of senior year was filled with college applications, with due dates lining up with finals week. Seniors stayed late for help and fell behind in classes because of the high demands placed on them.
Winter Break is a highly anticipated two weeks, it is a break for students to stop worrying about any academics, senior Hilary Te says, “It felt like the end of an era, kind of like after putting so much work and time into a specific thing… like I finally get a breather.”
Te resonates with the pattern most seniors live through in the first semester, she describes the ending of the first semester as an end of an era. Seniors have experienced numerous transitions with the split of Winter Break, finally reaching the destination that was always taught to them, college, finals, and their last high school experiences. Te expresses that the second semester is a breath of fresh air for her, although school barely resumed on the 7th of January it has already opened such new experiences for seniors and has left them feeling relaxed.
Some seniors are confident that the second semester will be better, senior Mathew Pham says, “I feel like we finally have like a good reason to just relax and chill. Second semester will be better.”
Pham has submitted his college applications and feels excited about the second semester. He will be able to go through his classes calmly and have a better experience this semester as a senior.
Seniors have expressed positive feelings about transitioning to the second semester, and do not feel that their stressful demands will follow. As the college application process disappears, seniors have many events to look forward to this semester that will prove this semester will be better. Senior, Kaylen Salgado says, “As a senior, I’m really looking forward to prom and, you know being with my friends that day.”
Salgado expresses how excited she is to spend the day with her friends at the biggest dance of the year, prom. Although the first semester was a scary experience for most seniors, they have such thrilling events to look forward to and everlasting memories to create.
Seniors have come back to school with contrasting feelings for the second semester. However, it seems that seniors are excited to be back and do not believe stressful demands will follow them into the year. With new experiences in the air, the break might have felt like a small graduation, but now the real graduation is on the way and seniors are choosing to have fun as they head towards their last day in high school.
