![Walking through the tunnel created by the cheerleaders and Celebrities, senior Frances Tran smiles as the soccer team is sent off during DEN for their playoff game against Rouse tonight. Tran said the wins against Smithson Valley and Alamo Heights gave the team a morale boost to take on the Raiders tonight. “I know we were not 100% confident in those games,” Tran said. “But, Rouse is a big opponent for sure. We’re definitely going into tonight with a lot of morale [because of the previous wins].”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frances-tran.jpg)
![Holding a bucket of materials in one hand and a roll of tape in another, anatomy and biology teacher Tyler Terry prepares for a lab. Terry said his proudest moments are when his students are happy to see him. “When I take my wife to a football game or something and a bunch of students want to say hi to me or they like to smile and wave and it just makes me feel good that the students are really kind and supportive of me,” Terry said. “[I’m also] proud when I see students perform really well in their extracurriculars because I can see how hard they’re working in my classes, [so] when I see that they’re also working so hard in other things. Like they’re winning band competitions or they’re getting awards for their theater productions, or I see them put on their choir shows, that’s like, wow, you guys are incredible.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rags-6.png)
![Catching a ball, junior Alivia Robinson plays at the Cedar Park vs Glenn game. Having played since she was 5 years old, she is dedicated to softball and has committed to UTPB for softball. “When I got my offer it took me a very long time to decide where,” Robinson said. “Softball has always been my dream for college, and UTPB is my fit. When [I committed] I knew I was going to be loved and supported.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lilly-Adams-3.13aliviaedit-901.jpg)
![Holding her dog, Nova, senior Ariana Balakrishnan poses for her senior pictures while Nova wears a bandana with her college decision. Balakrishnan applied to 18 colleges in total, but she decided on Columbia in the end. “Right before I clicked the button to open Columbia’s letter, I literally looked at the camera and go ‘This is just gonna really suck because I wanted it so bad,’ and I clicked it and all of a sudden you hear trumpets,” Balakrishnan said. “There’s a video that plays when you open it and I actually didn’t watch the video, I just watched the screen go black, because every day of December before ED [Early Decision] I would go on YouTube and watch the acceptance video to manifest it, so immediately when the screen went black, I started screaming and jumping up and down. And my parents in the video are like ‘What are you doing, where’s the letter,’ and I was just screaming ‘I got in, I got in.” I just started crying, and it just felt like everything in the world came together.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/ariana-2-300x217.jpg)
The fact that I am a senior allows me to dispense philosophical advice to my fellow underclassmen, but honestly I have the maturity level of a 12 year old so my “advice” might be a little skewed. I’m just as surprised as anyone that I made it this far because my procrastination has really taken its toll from time to time. Anything I say won’t pertain to everyone and shouldn’t be taken too seriously.
One thing to keep in mind is that high school relationships should not dictate your life. Do not take it too personally when the “love of your life” doesn’t text you back, even after you called them 47 times. Watch the movie He’s just not that into you and you will get the message quite clear. The most important thing to take from this place is to not take high school too seriously. According to movies like Mean Girls and The Breakfast Club this place is a breeding ground for incompetent gossip-loving individuals who still maintain the “survival of the fittest” mentality. Their main purpose in life is to take you down. But if you don’t waste your time trying to be popular, you shouldn’t have this problem.
On a more serious note, high school is what you make of it. As petty and cliché as that sounds, it is pretty solid advice. You can choose to mope over what was said about you on the bathroom wall, you can sit at home all day just Facebook stalking or you can be proactive and try to enjoy your high school years.
Perhaps my depiction of high school is a little exaggerated and not exactly my real experience. And despite my constant complaining about getting out of here, I am seriously going to miss it. I will never forget dancing to Metal Shop at football games or the boys dance competition at the pep rally. And I will never forget the moment when we beat Stony Point in football and running on the field with my fellow seniors. The friendships I have made will never fade away when I leave this town. I sincerely don’t believe high school is going to be the best years of anyone’s life. But make it a great time or not, the choice is yours.
