By Maren Ingram, Editor-in-Chief

The magical year that us seniors have been preparing for since before we could write full sentences is nearly here. Now, with only a few weeks left of 2021, our graduating year is right around the corner, and watching the calendar flip to 2022 is something that many of us, including myself, have been unable to mentally grasp.

I remember sitting in the computer lab in early elementary school and learning my email address and lunch number, which would end up being our logins to everything for the next 12 years. At the beginning of our emails were the numbers ‘2 2’. I remember my kindergarten teacher saying, “That means 2022, the year you’re going to graduate. It may seem far away now, but it’s closer than you think.” 

To this day, I don’t think I’ve ever heard truer words. 

I’ve always thought about that June day when we’ll line up alphabetically, hear the valedictorian and salutatorian speeches and walk across the stage to receive our diplomas as an event so far in the future that it’s completely unseeable. But when I walk through the store and see the New Year’s decorations decked out with the year 2022, reality hits like a train. 

While it’s exciting to think about heading off to see what this giant world has to offer, and the fact that my “senioritis” kicks in more and more every day, I know that this chapter coming to a close is going to be painful. 

From field days in elementary school to seventh-grade chorus concerts, from the first day of high school to the day we throw our caps in the air in celebration, this class has been through it all, together. We experienced grief with the tragic loss of a classmate in sixth grade and were forced to navigate almost the entirety of high school in a pandemic world.

While it hasn’t been the easiest ride, I know that many of us seniors are incredibly thankful we get to have a somewhat normal senior year, including football games, Homecoming traditions and prom. It’s a privilege that the Class of 2020 and 2021 weren’t so lucky to have, so even being back in the school building for our final year of high school is something to be grateful for. 

Quite often, I think about watching the senior class walk through my elementary school before graduation day, or even starting high school as a timid freshman and looking at the seniors as if they were celebrities. Prior to this year, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be a senior, much less imagine what it would be like to walk out of First Flight High School for the last time. 

But, in just six short months, I’ll be doing just that; walking out of this school for the very last time, at least as a student. 

It’s bittersweet when I think about all the wonderful memories I’ve made here, whether it be producing a newspaper with some of the most talented people First Flight has to offer, cheering on the football team with my friends, or simply bonding with teachers and classmates on a daily basis. At the same time, I’m so thankful for all the opportunities I’ve been given at First Flight that have made these memories possible in the first place. 

While it’s going to be painful to walk away from the people we’ve essentially grown up with, it’s also incredible to watch us leave First Flight as these amazing individuals who have so much to offer to the world. 

Senior Maren Ingram can be reached at [email protected].