Yesterday on October 12th, while students in the grades below were doing their PSAT, the seniors were able to come into school late to attend a senior mural event where students took group pictures in the stadium and then lined up to print their hand on the “2023 and Free” mural. After putting down their handprints, some seniors shared that they were looking forward to “leaving the school,” “student activities and all the events coming up for seniors,” and “graduating and moving onto college.”
Others talked about the mural, saying they “love the mural being 2023 and Free mainly because we’ve been through a lot these past few years. Losing half our freshman year and sophomore year to COVID was hard, those are years students tend to grow as people and [now we can] be free from all the pain that’s happened to us…free to be ourselves and go to college and just live our lives to the fullest as we’re finally coming close to becoming adults.”
While this is their last year in Danbury High School, many of the seniors expressed that “it’s kinda sad because we’re all leaving and becoming separated but also really excited to grow up, become independent, and experience new things” while some “feel pretty good about starting new chapters in life after high school [but are] going to miss friends and all the events, especially all the sports, like going to football games that are part of the high school experience. But at the end of the day,” they reflected, “we all have to move on and keep on going with our lives.”
The senior class had some great advice for the grades below based on their experiences, like “definitely don’t procrastinate, I struggled with it and procrastinated a lot to a point I almost didn’t graduate, and everyone wants to graduate. So do your work and don’t slack off.” Others said something similar, “take school seriously don’t slack off and don’t procrastinate, it just makes you struggle in the long run.” Others reflected on improving the culture at DHS, “listen to your teachers, don’t be rude to [them] or other people around you. But have fun, it’s your high school years and you won’t be able to experience it again.” Some people were straight foward, telling students “never do study halls so that in senior year you can leave really early.” The best and most honest advice for underclassmen is to “try your hardest and put your best effort forward, but also enjoy your time in high school.”