For many, early morning is a high schooler’s worst nightmare, but for senior Dailey Tucker, it might just be one of the highlights of her senior year.

“One of my favorite memories so far from senior year was senior sunrise,” Dailey said. “It was a super unique experience to wake up early with my classmates and watch the sunrise all together before school started.”

FHC offers a number of unique experiences for seniors to help make their year extra special. Leading FHC’s teams and activities, for example, makes all the hard work they have put in over the years worth it.

For senior Megan Fox, teaching and choreographing the senior lip sync was most definitely a highlight. 

“I liked helping, and teaching [the class lip sync],” Megan said. “It was fun with my other dance team friends because we got to help create and teach it to everyone. Everybody’s excitement right away about it was a lot of fun.”

While the year has already offered a lot to the senior class, there is much more to come with this final semester. 

As a senior, they get the opportunity to lead the school in a multitude of activities from sports to the arts, and for Megan, this is something that has made her year much more special.

“My friends and the activities I’m a part of allowed me to be with a lot of different people,” Megan said. “I feel like when you are a senior you kind of get to lead a lot of the activities around.”

As they have traversed many things, COVID-19 included, the class of 2023 is eager to finish out their high school experience strong and make the most out of what high school has offered them. 

“Being able to experience a full year that is back to normal with my classmates has made this year super special,” Dailey said. “I am so lucky to have had my first normal year of high school be my senior year.”

COVID-19 may not have directly impacted this class’s senior year, nonetheless, the major impact that the pandemic had on their earlier high school years impacts how they view their last years of high school. It has built a greater sense of appreciation for this year.

For senior Ava Redmond, the pandemic did just that. 

“COVID-19 was in my sophomore year,” Ava said. “I guess it didn’t really affect senior year, but it affected how I looked at it. Just missing any part of high school is not great, but I didn’t have to miss the upperclassmen part, and seeing other people miss that part made me appreciate it much more.”

Even without COVID-19 interrupting the past few years, there seems to be more incentive when students become seniors to make the most of what they have left of high school. As students grow up and realize high school is soon to come to a close, this eighth semester gives them an opportunity to live out as much of their high school as they can possibly fit. 

“I have definitely had a lot more fun,” Ava said. “Just knowing that your childhood is coming to an end is an incentive to have fun and do the senior and childhood things.”

With this incentive, it feels a more bittersweet emotion seems to accompany the students on their road to graduation. As the world of FHC comes to a close, everyone is excited yet nervous to start the next chapter.  

“It’s bittersweet,” Dailey said. “I am excited for the new chapter in my life, but I am nervous to leave behind the people and places I’ve been so familiar with my whole life. I’m excited to graduate but not ready to leave everything behind. It all went by so fast and if I could do it again I would.”

As they make their dramatic exit to this “next chapter,” these seniors have a few messages they would like to pass on to the younger generations of FHC.

Megan, suggests being involved with all that you can.

“Just be involved in as many things as you can at this school,” Megan said. “I feel like there’s like a lot of different facets such as the theater and things that I did and I was involved with, so I feel like if you get involved in things you can meet a ton of people and get to make a new friend group.”

Ava wants to assure everyone that no one is watching as carefully as you, and you deserve to live the high school that you have always imagined. 

“You’re only in high school once,” Ava said. “As much as you want to think everyone is looking at you and thinking of you, they aren’t, everyone is thinking like that. You deserve to have the experience you have dreamt of. You should be allowed to live the experiences you have wanted to since 7th, 8th, 9th grade.”