BEEP.

BEEP.

BEEP.

7:00 in the morning is the start of a normal day for senior Ara Aliyari, who makes it out of the house by 7:15 at the earliest for first period every day. Those days add up to months, and then in a flash it’s the final year of high school – it’s all over. 

Most people look forward to senior year for many reasons; it’s so close to freedom. While it has its ups and downs, it may sound like an obvious choice for best year of high school – but not for Ara.

“Honestly, I would say my favorite year of high school was just freshman year,” Aliyari said. “I think out of all years, freshman year is the year that I was the most relaxed.”

Freshman year is the first year in yet another school – a whole different rodeo compared to middle school with stress, tons of homework, and difficult subjects. However the best way to look at it is an opportunity to explore clubs, interests, hobbies, and potential favorite subjects at a whole new level. While high school includes lots of stress, It’s something worth getting used to.

“Freshman year is a happy time for me,” Aliyari said. “It’s a time where I found my closest friends and I stuck with the people that I looked [at] as role models. And it’s a time where I started finding exactly what clubs and things I wanted to be in and what I wanted to do in my high school career.”

Although the high school years fly by, it’s not all sad, as Aliyari said it’s also important to “look forward” to opening up a new chapter. Senior year might be going faster than ever, but there are new things to look forward to, especially college as another step towards freedom.

“I think now as a senior, I’ve officially decided that the chapter’s ready to close,” Alyari said. “High school has had its moment and I’m ready to move on to college and move on to higher studies.”

Although there are positive aspects of leaving High School, it comes with some negatives, like leaving everything behind: relationships, leadership roles, and clubs. Not that any of those hobbies or traits can’t be expressed in college, but it’s different.

“I’ll never be a band kid anymore,” Alyari said. “I’ll never be a flute section leader. I’ll never be a StuCo member at Clements High School anymore.”

Even though those things can be sad, and especially since things will be different after leaving, there are some personal achievements to take away. 

“I think honestly just surviving high school is like a really big achievement in itself,” Aliyari said.

Aliyari said some of her biggest achievements are being in clubs, being involved, and having something that makes her happy while balancing everything else.

“I want people to be in things like orchestra, band, student council, any of those clubs that give you an outlet,” Aliyari said. “Even if it’s volunteering, even if it’s playing an instrument for two minutes or writing a book or drawing something, having something that makes you truly happy is something that I wish I had more of.”

Senior quotes are a way to leave behind a legacy, and have a final word. While Ara does not have a senior quote, but she said she would have written: “The leader is not always born, but built on.”