Ellie Fasbender

Online Editor in Chief

As the 2018-2019 school year is coming to a close, seniors look at their years throughout high school and reflect on what they would have done differently or give some high school advice that they may have learned over the years.

Freshman year…. Freshman, take advantage of this year! It seems like you have a lifetime to get good grades and get your work done. Your time in high school goes way faster than you would think and once your GPA is tanked, it’s exceptionally hard to get it back up. Many Orono seniors have expressed their frustration with themselves for slacking at the beginning of high school and not realizing how it will affect them later on in their high school career.

“I totally wish I would have tried my freshman year, my advice is don’t start studying the night before, I know the teachers say it and we all roll our eyes but like, it actually works,” senior Natalie Brockman said.

Sophomore year…. You all have almost two years of high school under your belt. Which means you guys are already halfway through your high school career. Let that sink in for a moment. Some of you I’m sure are ready but enjoy the time you have here. It won’t be long until you are standing in Pesonen stadium waiting for your name to be called.  Take this time to find your group. Find people who you actually like to hang out with and who are going to make these next few years great. And remember, academics are important, but they aren’t everything

“Some friendship advice that I have learned over the years is to be who you would want your best friend to be to you, and always take into account other people’s feelings before saying what you want to say,” senior Alex Danielson said.

Junior year…. Undoubtedly the hardest year. We have been there and we know what you’re going through but you will go to college or do whatever you want to do. It’s going to be stressful, but you guys got this. For most of you, the ACT is over, or at least almost. So don’t stress out too much, school and work are important but again, they are not everything. This is the time where you can learn to balance and manage your life and the craziness. The most important thing is to realize that you guys have one. More. year. So make it count!

“If I could have done anything differently I would not have stressed out so much and spent more time with my friends and would have gone to more school events,” senior Ellen Kittridge said.

Senior year…. Seniors, we made it. The moment we have been waiting for since freshman year. All the honors and AP coursework has paid off, the ACT is over, and whatever decision you have made to do next year is about to open brand new opportunities to amazing new things. It’s getting harder to imagine that our time here is coming to an end. It’s an even harder pill to swallow realizing all of our “lasts” have already passed. Our last football game, hockey game, prom, AP test, and the most heartbreaking of all–class comp. We have come so far since the fall of 2015 when we first stepped into high school as a freshman. Everyone has changed in some way, shape, or form, and whether high school has been the best or worst part of your life, it has taught each and every one of us a lesson. That lesson may have been with school, friends, or sports but each one of us is walking out of here with tools we are going to need in the future. Congratulations to the class of 2019, for officially surviving high school.

Lessons from the seniors….

“Four years is a short time, your high school experience is shorter than you think so enjoy yourself” senior Natalie Brockman

“Value all the relationships formed in high school, it can get you farther than you expect and change your life” senior Alex Danielson

“Always be there for your friends, you never know what people are going through” senior Ellen Kittridge

“Make sure to make friends with underclassman because you’ll be sad when your upperclassman friends graduate” senior Megan Larson