Senior year: the year I’ve been anticipating since ninth grade. It’s unbelievable to sit down and think, “Wow, that was really three years ago?” As we all unloaded off the buses for senior picnic, I was reminded of fifth grade picnic at Beach where the 40 of us spent the day on the grassy field. This year’s picnic was filled with water balloon tosses, kickball, and volleyball on the sand. No cell phone service, no worries about the future; just 176 of us and a wide-open field.

This year will be about unity as a class, a friendlier school environment, and the courage to put ourselves out there.

I remember back to freshman year, when I was blown away by the noise at the first rally and shocked at how big the seniors seemed as I made my way through the breezeway to class. While some of us wore articles of orange, the blue of the senior class dominated the stands. Then sophomore year, when school felt harder than it had ever been. Junior year was really when people grew up, as we made the transition from underclassmen to upperclassmen. We prepared ourselves for the workload, with all of the seniors saying “junior year is the worst”, but really it wasn’t awful. With junior year came self-reflection and broadening my world.

We’re seniors now, and it’s our time to dominate the gym with orange at the first rally.

Senior year is in full throttle, with college apps and the SAT, but in a way it’s almost refreshing because with every piece we accomplish, we can sit down and tell ourselves, “I’m almost there.” And I’ve learned to take pleasure in little things that take my mind off the stress—like looking back on Tim Campbell sticking two pencils in his mouth like a walrus in the middle of Spanish class last week. We’re still young, right?

I’ve put up a blind wall against any thoughts past June. For now, my life is an A through G rotation, and the purple and white of PHS. I cannot even begin to process the thought that next year I won’t be living at home with the energy of my brother as we sit at the table doing homework or the driving to school in the morning with my sister as we blast Taylor Swift. What am I going to do without my parents and friends? For now, I’m letting it all seem distant and unreal.

It’s time for the senior class of 2013 to unify and make the best of the time spent together. It’s time to take risks. It’s time to put ourselves out there, do things out of our comfort zones, and hang out with people we wouldn’t normally hang out with. If you think about it, some of us have been in school together for the past twelve years. It’s time to give people second chances, or reach out to those you never really got to know. These things will help us learn who we are, what we’re capable of, and what we really want out of life.

We are on top. We have one year to be the role models of those below us, until we are once again the underdogs. We have the responsibility of acting as role models for the grades below us, and interacting with them to create a happier and more unified school environment. It’s time to use that energy we’ve had since freshman year. We’re almost a quarter through our senior year; it’s time to live in the moment and make the best of each day we have together.

Let’s achieve our goals, but also allow ourselves time to just focus on what we love, what makes us laugh.

For me, running with my friends is the perfect break between school and homework: an hour or two where I can let loose, push myself, and laugh.

I don’t have to think about what I did that day or what I have to do afterwards, all I have to think about is the moment. And that’s all I need.

As for the first rally, I expect every senior to be decked out in orange. Our spirit and unity as a class will change the environment of our school.

Next year we’ll be putting our senior t-shirt in a box and replacing it with ones of new colors. But right now we are living in the 2013 orange, and the Piedmont purple and white. Let’s get out there and show ’em what we’ve got.