When the seniors graduated last year, all of my friends began freaking out. "Oh my gosh! We’re seniors! This is so amazing!" I was the one sitting there asking, "What’s the big deal about senior year?" So, as I entered senior year, I thought I would suddenly have an epiphany and realize what all of the hullabaloo was about. Alas, this never happened. I still don’t get it. Last time I checked, there isn’t really much to get excited about when it comes to senior year.

I narrowed it down to the two things that scream senior year: the overwhelming stress of college applications or the fear that a sudden case of senioritis will jeopardize your entire future. But, let’s be honest; neither of these make any sense whatsoever. So, here I begin my quest for the secret behind this excitement.

Several seniors say that the excitement is simply over the number of events. "Senior pictures," says Katherine Sharpe. "Senior Unity Day," states Grecia Vidaurre. Others mentioned Senior Banquet, prom, graduation, and the list goes on. "The activities make the year! We get to do so much," says senior Foluso Soniregun. But this isn’t enough for me. Juniors have a lot of events too. So do sophomores. And the freshmen are the luckiest, because they do things at Paint Branch Hogwarts style. Some say that it’s the perks, like open lunch. Then there are some that say it’s the oh-so-wonderful feeling of being the oldest in the school. "You own the school!" "Everyone has to impress you," they yell. However, these seniors fail to realize that they are going straight back to the bottom of the pile in college or in the workforce. With more persistence, I got some to admit that it’s the last time to make an impression. It is the year when people dress nicely and do crazy things in an attempt to leave a legacy. It is the one year that we’re all going to remember.

This last thing made some sense. So, I went to the people who graduated a while back to see what the real effect of senior year is. "It’s a good time to realize who your real friends are and who will remain loyal to you after the year is over," says Danielle Paik, who graduated in the class of 2009. "You take away a lot of good memories," said college freshman and Paint Branch alumnus, Maya Bouvier-Lyons, who attends the University of Delaware. "Being a freshman in college is so different, because you made yourself someone in high school, and now, no one knows who you are." There are those whose lives may be completely different because of their senior year, but also those who didn’t really experience it. "I’m probably not the best person to ask, since I practically lived away from school during senior year, interning at the National Institutes of Health," ’09 alumnus Brent Abel laughs. According to Abel, missing senior year didn’t really make a difference. Of course, there are some who could not care less about senior year. "I was so over being a high school senior that I graduated as a junior, so I don’t understand the ‘big deal’ aspect of it, either!" says English teacher Ms. Blighton.

Senior year is simply a time to remember the past and look forward to a new phase in life. It represents change and growth. If that’s a big deal, then let it be.