Senior Reflection: Where did the time go?

Oakmonitors+four+year+member+Maddie+Either

Oakmonitor’s four year member Maddie Either

Senior Reflection: Where did the time go?

By Maddie Ethier

We’re down to the end of senior year. It feels like just yesterday I was walking through the doors for the first time, way back in 2019. It seems like an eternity ago. We’ve been through a whole pandemic since then. Back in March of 2020, it never seemed like we’d make it this far. It felt as though senior year would never arrive. Well, here we are.

I remember our freshman orientation like it was yesterday. It was the night before school began in August of 2019. All the incoming freshmen gathered in the Oakmont auditorium. We were given our schedules, a welcoming address from then principal Mr. David Uminski and senior Student Council members, sharing their experiences. We were then broken into groups and embarked on a tour around the school. The building seemed so difficult to navigate at first.

We go through so much change as high schoolers, whether these changes are physical, mental, or otherwise. It may not seem like four years is a long time, but the amount of events that can happen in that timeframe is insane.

Speaking for myself, I can attest to the fact that high school can change you. When I first entered as a freshman, I was a different person. I was a brand new student from a different school district, and I knew nobody. The people I met came and went, and this was due in part to the person I used to be. I wasn’t as mature or socially aware as my peers, something I needed to work on. My social experiences led me to improve myself. Although I feel that I am a somewhat different person, 14-year-old me does seep through the cracks at times.

Now that graduation is upon us and our time at Oakmont has come to an end, we’ve all been in a serious mode of reflection. This is typical of any high school student about to head off into the world. There are so many possibilities after high school, the most popular venture being college. College is a new adventure, a new experience, something I’m very much looking forward to. I think I speak for many of my peers who are also headed off to college.

Overall, my years at Oakmont were a highlight of my life. I will forever remember my “high school experience” and look back on these four years with fondness. Although my time here was pretty much a typical high school experience, this experience is a rite of passage, something to be remembered forever.