There once was a time where we played outside, ate the floor while playing tag, and collected the most random of items to relieve our hyperfixations. A time where you were told not to eat watermelon seeds or you would grow a watermelon in your stomach. When your only worry was trying to convince your guardian to let you stay up 30 minutes past your bedtime because your favorite show had a new episode airing.The way time has slipped comes as a shock for many Seniors this year. There are about 148 days until graduation day so the anxieties and excitement coming from Freedom’s students is well expressed when asking some students their thoughts.

For L.C Alcala, a Leadership senior student, she expressed her excitement towards graduation. “I am personally really excited to graduate and start to finally work towards goals, instead of simply meeting requirements.Now that we are in our last semester, it is finally setting in that I am closer to the finish line and I'm trying to make the most memories to look back on.” Many students are excited to finally be over with school and move on to the next chapter of their lives. The excitement that comes with accomplishing the 4 most important academic years of your life is a big deal to many, but can also be nerve wracking at the same time. Evie Aguirre’s thoughts on graduating are just that. “I’m nervous and excited,it’s scary to think about growing up so soon and having to go quickly into adulthood but excited to do the things from a new life of being an adult.”

The percentage of excitement to anxiety regarding graduation, the results outweighed each other significantly. According to an Instagram poll, about 20% of students were excited to graduate and around 80% were nervous. Most would assume that the majority of seniors would be excited however that is a different story. Personally for me, I am pretty nervous to graduate due to the fear of abandoning what I know, as well as my lower classman friends. The journey of starting as a timid and scared freshman to a more confident and voiced senior is a change that couldn’t have happened if it wasn't for school and who I surrounded myself with. No matter what the journey you took was, graduating is an accomplishment every senior should be proud of. We definitely made it, now being the most authentic versions of ourselves that we know.