Inside The Blue And White
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By Chloe Clement
There’s one thing that pretty much every student has heard over and over throughout their years of high school: “It goes by so fast.” I know I have been told that statement more times than I can count throughout these past four years,, but now that I’m here I see that those words really do hold some truth. The Class of 2023 will graduate in a week and to be completely honest, I am really going to miss Water Valley High School. I wanted to take this week’s article to reflect on some memories and offer a little glimpse of what the Class of 2023’s high school years have been like.
We started our freshman year in 2019. This year marked the beginning of our high school journey as we started taking classes that would actually count towards graduation. World geography, English I, algebra, health, and biology were some of the classes we endured as ninth graders. We got our first taste of high school athletics that year and the options to join new clubs.
Freshman year spring break was one that we will never forget either. We went on spring break and never came back. Our new normal became zoom meetings and online assignments. In some ways online school was great because we could have class anywhere we wanted and did not have to get a hall pass to go to the restroom. Although for others, online school was a struggle as both teachers and students had to learn all new ways of instruction and work around internet obstacles. Freshman year was definitely one to remember, a year full of firsts in many areas.
Next came our sophomore year. This year was probably the craziest year of our lives. Never would I have imagined that we would spend a year wearing masks around our classmates, socially distancing our desks, or not being able to eat in the cafeteria.
Sophomore year consisted of early morning temperature checks before entering the building and students constantly getting pulled out of class and quarantined for two weeks because of their proximity to someone who tested positive for Covid-19. I hated every time the intercom would come on because you never knew if your name would be called for a two-week lockdown. During the first semester of sophomore year, every Wednesday was a half-day, allowing the staff to clean the school in hopes of preventing the spread of Covid-19.
Sophomore year also consisted of having to practice our sports in masks. I can speak from personal experience when I say that running sprints in a mask is not fun. Sophomore year was defined by a lot of change and uncertainty.
Our junior year was the year when things began to feel normal again. Sports were back like normal and state tests began to count like they did before. Our junior year marked a change in our class though. We were no longer underclassmen and the realization of the future actually began to sink in.
College and career tours filled our schedules and we began to seriously think about life after high school. Our junior year challenged and matured us and it prepared us for our senior year – the year that we have been dreaming about forever. We put countdowns on our phones for graduation day. We enjoyed early release, final college visits, and senior parties. We took our senior portraits and chose a quote for the yearbook. We cried at senior nights and last games. We took our last high school exams and sat in a classroom with our friends one final time. Now here we are, a week away from graduation, a week away from walking the stage and throwing our caps, and one week away before we become the people who tell high school students, “It goes by so fast.”
I will forever cherish these years and the memories each of them have held – good and bad. The Class of 2023 has had an eventful four years of high school together, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Members of the Water Valley High School Class of 2023 are pictured at the senior breakfast before their last first day. The group has endured an unusual high school era that included a shortened freshman year, and crazy Covid protocols during their sophomore year. Things returned to normal during their junior year.
