It’s that time of the year for Seniors. They get to wake up, brush their teeth, look at themselves in the mirror… and question the entirety of their identity while finding the right balance between a funny and a pity-inducing 650-word narrative that manages to radiate the essence of their souls.

You know, a casual Monday morning.

Oh, but then, they realize that they have a test in AP Statistics, which they will ultimately fail since they were too busy looking through old pictures on their phones with the hope of remembering a funny anecdote that will be exaggerated to produce some sentimental reaction from the reader: “I spent all my summer every summer at my grandma’s house, and from her, I learned a lot”… Man, the only thing I learned from my grandma is that when they say they watch TV in their sleep, they mean it— don’t you dare turn it off.

Hard times for the Seniors. Surprisingly, some of them actually do have a life worth sharing.

Senior Sofia Rocha, who is this year’s Captain of the prestigious award-winning WC Speech team, shares that while answering a prompt about challenges faced and beliefs questioned, she’s writing about her struggles and resolutions with her own sexuality.

“Growing up, I was always taught one specific way to look upon life and my decisions,” Rocha said. “Especially when it comes to my sexuality, which is something I questioned from a young age, and how I’ve always challenged what has been taught.”

Being comfortable with defying authority and standing up for your beliefs is a skill that not many people have, not even adults— in fact, even fewer adults. We all know that teens have always been criticized for being independent and strong-willed and, at the same time, having issues describing or owning up to their identity. (Come on, have you ever watched The Breakfast Club? The thing has four decades of antiquity and is still relevant.) But I’m proud of this new generation who is not afraid to make a personality— make a person— out of themselves without feeling like they owe anyone the right to influence them. That takes courage.

Senior Connor Bowley, who is involved in Tennis and Choir and who drives an obnoxious Subaru he willingly named John, shares the thread that will be, well, threading his college essays.

“The thing that makes me special is that when I really want something, there is nothing that can stop me from getting it,” Bowley said. “And I won’t quit.”

Again– The Breakfast Club: you know, the character Andrew— he’s the jock and has a whole monologue on never giving up— okay, sorry, I’ll stop with the 80s references. Anyhow, Connor knows how to sell that image for himself because, in reality, just wishing for something doesn’t make a difference; you have to work for it, too.
Some College Essays prompt our poor seniors to dig back into their background as a shaping tool for their present. One of our own Churchill artists and Varsity Orchestra violinists shares their story— their background— with us and calls it “pursuing the arts with limited resources.” Which is considered to be one of the conundrums of not only this modern age but history. Senior Malachite Ramirez Ruiz, like many other artists, faces the threat of having a talent for the arts and the desire to pursue such a resentful career path, while struggling with the reality of a lowly–financially rewarded career path.

“Is it worth it?” Ramirez explores in their essay.

All in all, even though we teens have a reputation for reckless decisions and dramatic interactions, I think the world could learn something about us—we are empathetic, goal-oriented, and artistic. And I really hope that adulthood doesn’t strip us of that.