Second semester is a blur for most students. They’re fighting to stay focused as school work piles up, but the weather is starting to look up and the finish line is near. For seniors, it’s a different battle. Coming to terms with the fact that this is the last few months in grade school can be difficult and scary for many. College decisions are rolling in faster than ever and commitment is right around the corner for most. But, prom, graduation and beach week make it worth it.

“Being a senior means there’s all sorts of stuff to look forward to. Especially finishing out high school,” senior Ava Franke said.

These festivities that are specifically for seniors, unless an underclassman is invited, are not only well planned but also anticipated and talked about for months, sometimes years in advance.

“All the senior class officers visited the Boulder Center to get a tour of the venue and we are discussing to add on other features to make our prom as fun as possible,” senior class vice president Tomas Flores said.

Senior class officers aren’t the only ones beginning to think about prom.

“Even though I am not closely involved in senior planning because I am an officer for SGA, prom and graduation are starting to be brought up around the school. I didn’t realize how close it was until my friends started showing me the dresses they’re looking at,” SGA secretary Bryan Kibet said.

While the senior events are being talked about, college and high school goals are in the back of many students minds. Some had goals they wanted to accomplish by the end of high school and others have aspirations for further down the road.

“I’m still deciding what path I want to take when I get to college and what I want to do in the future,” Franke said.

This is a prime time in which students are still figuring out who they are, who they want to be and what they want to do. Not only is that not easy but it’s also a lot of pressure as others are going through the same process. But that’s what being a senior class is about. Starting together and finishing together.

Graduation is the last school held event for seniors and arguably the most important. Now that second semester is underway, so is graduation.

“We are excited to get our graduation meeting started and go to UMBC to look at our graduation venue,” Flores said.

Though seniors might be struggling right now, being able to celebrate their accomplishments with prom and graduation make it worth it to cross the finish line.