My years at Air Academy were long to say the least, but at the same time, as I near the end of my senior year it seems like the years have flown by. I look forward to graduating very much, yet I will not actually be attending graduation. For the four years I’ve been at Air Academy, I have been involved with cross country and track, and the State 4x800m for this year is on the same day as graduation. Although it is kind of sad that I won’t be able to participate with my friends, there wouldn’t be a better way to sum up my high school career than with a track meet. I have learned so much from being involved in sports. I’ve learned how to be a leader, but I have also learned how to grow as an athlete myself.

As for many students at AAHS, sports have helped form many of my friend groups and have also opened up opportunities for me to have relationships with people I may not have had otherwise. While in cross country or track, I was always worried about what time I was going to run in a race or how I would place in the end. However, I will most likely remember the pasta parties that I had with my teammates, and the different times of bonding and growing friendship, rather than the one race I ran my goal time. When I was a freshman, my upperclassmen teammates were my mentors, and by being a senior this year I have really come to realize how much of a responsibility that is. We had several freshman join our cross country team my senior year, and I felt that it was my responsibility to get them on track–it was a privilege to show them the ways that I was taught before. Senior Lacey Barkalow says, “Something that really struck me was in cross country when I was running, the varsity who weren’t running at the time got in a car and followed right next to the course cheering for me, telling me how much I can do it! It was the fastest I have ever run!”

As cliché as it seems, the friends that I have made in high school are some of the greatest friends I’ve had. I think we all have matured together from our freshman year to senior, and there are numerous memories to account for that. Madison May says, “I couldn’t have imagined going through high school without all my friends by my side. Whether they have come and gone, each one has made an impact on me and my experience here. I know that it will be the people and memories that I will remember not the score I got on a test or a project.” Honestly, I can’t stress that enough. Yes, school is important, but the experiences you have here will have a longer lasting impact. Once senior year comes, students really should focus on hanging out with their friends, and put some of the academics on the back burner. I know, *gasp*, but PSA: there is more to high school than taking those five AP classes.

Underclassmen like Maria Mettler comment, “There was this one time in art class when a senior heard a freshman bullying another freshman and the senior stepped in. The senior was able to help the freshman and fix the problem because they had experience.” Junior Sophie Braza explains what she has learned from the seniors by stating, “The seniors that I have met have really struck out to me as being nice and not really caring what everyone thinks. I think that is a great quality that comes with age/maturity that is really important for underclassmen to understand; oftentimes, people don’t realize things until the importance of them has passed.”

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