As freshmen, students walk shyly down the halls, scared of being the youngest. As sophomores, they are merely relieved that they aren’t freshmen. By the time junior year hits, students have a difficult workload and know they still have an entire year to go. 

However, when senior year rolls around, students know they are at the top. They are the oldest in school, the faculty knows them, they get to participate in varsity athletics and it is finally their year to graduate. After graduation, they have their entire life ahead of them. 

Seniors can feel it as soon as they step foot in the school after summer: they are about to experience the best year of high school. 

After having a stressful junior year of deciding on colleges, studying for and taking the SAT and ACT and having difficult classes, many seniors can waltz into their final year of high school nearly stress-free.  

“I think this year is the best year of high school,” said senior Lexie Fletcher. “I feel like it’s the easiest year.” Many seniors agree with her. 

Additionally, seniors enjoy the well-earned benefits of early release and late start. Many students either take classes for high school credit in middle school, enroll in summer classes or just have enough credits to graduate, allowing them to take early release or late start. This means that they might just have three class periods in a day, allowing not only more time for themselves, but also taking away the homework time associated with extra classes.  

Seniors also have the privilege of holding their “seniority” over the underclassmen, especially at events like football games. In the bleachers, seniors get to stand in the front, while the underclassmen fill in the rest of the available seats. Although it might seem unimportant, this privilege allows seniors to feel special and like they have worked their way to the top. 

When it comes to varsity athletics, senior year is exciting because seniors experience Senior Night in their respective sports. Every sport has its own traditions associated with Senior Night, but they are all done to commemorate the senior athletes’ hard work and dedication to their sports.  

Perhaps the most significant part about being a senior is being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. After four years of hard work – and the years of elementary schooling before that – students will finally have the wide-open choice of what to do with their lives. They might be going to college, starting a job or travelling. 

With three years of high school behind them, seniors can move through their final year with ease. 

“I am still learning stuff and am in hard classes, but I know how high school works,” Fletcher said. She has figured out the best methods that work for her and now has the tools she needs to succeed in her final year. 

Despite their choice, one thing will remain true: they will be pursuing what they want to pursue, rather than following the legal requirements of young people in America. As many seniors are turning 18 years old, they have the newfound status of adulthood, and it is exciting.  

High school is what students make it. For some, it can be a fun and educational time in their lives. For others, they cannot wait until it is over. Of all four years, senior year is the best, and students will continue to endorse that fact time and time again.