Class of 2024 has finally made it to their final year here at Oakmont! By now, we all should be more than ready to graduate, right? Well, that isn’t the general consensus. As seniors, we both have some heavy opinions on this, but we also wanted some outside perspective.

As we were writing this article, we had to do a lot of thinking about the school year that has finally come and what it means for us. We have been friends since 8th grade, and the thought of having to split up so soon is terrifying. While this might be the normal response from any graduating class, we wondered if this feeling has been even more intense because of Covid. 

We sort of feel as if we were rushed through high school. One day we were peacefully in middle school, eagerly awaiting our freshman year, and then all of a sudden we were stuck at home. High school did begin for us, but not the way we planned at all. Instead of the typical fun experience we were so excited about, we got staring at Google Meets and hanging out with our friends strictly through FaceTime. There were so many of the typical high school beginning events we didn’t get to experience. 

Freshman year is a formative year. It’s a new start to get involved with the school in different clubs, classes, etc. Being online blocked a lot of that from happening because we couldn’t actually see each other. It’s also a big year for making friends! Making friend groups is huge in freshman year, even if we don’t want to admit it. It forms who you’re surrounded by for the next four years. Due to being online a lot of people didn’t get the chance. A lot of us from Overlook did have a slight advantage because we did know each other from the past years but it was still a problem for most.

From personal experience though, (Emily) I went to Monty Tech for freshman year and I was unable to make any friends because of how separated the class was. You didn’t have classmates sitting next to you, or anyone to sit with for lunch, and there weren’t any after-school activities to meet new people at, so making those connections proved to be extremely challenging.

Our next step was deciding to go and talk to one of our school counselors: Ms. Dubovick. She saw firsthand the ups and downs the class of 2024 has had. We asked her about her perspective on our grade. While having our talk, we brought up our thoughts and concerns on whether she felt that a lot of the seniors were feeling unready for graduation. Ms. Dubovick mentioned that ¨Lots of kids are saying they do not feel ready to graduate.¨ which brings us back to our main concern. The general feeling from our class is that we need to almost “catch up”. Lots of our class (ourselves included) feel as if we should still be in sophomore or junior year. The thought of being a senior and graduating doesn’t even feel real. 

In the end, we can’t delay our graduation. On May 24th, 2024, we will all walk across that stage no matter what. While it may SEEM way too soon for some of us, in reality, we have done our time. Our feelings don’t change the amount of time we have spent at Oakmont. So, get out there, go to the after-school activities, and make those memories with your class! Class of 2024, whether we like it or not, is ready.