Final Semester of High School

By David Kim 

2023 was a year that we seniors, the Class of 2023, thought would never arrive. However, to our collective amazement, it is already here, and nearly a month has already passed. In addition, with scheduling complexities (refer to "Scheduling Complexities!" for more details) resolved, the second semester of the 2022-2023 school year has officially begun.

This semester is a time that seniors must decide on what we will study and where to spend the next four years of our lives based on our college decisions. This is a rather difficult and intimidating process for many of us, as evidenced by Michael Hsu's (12) remark, "Seniors deserve more respect, especially from freshmen who don't know what we are going through," or Noah Lee's (12) realization, "I have no idea what I'm interested in or what the future is going to look like."

It is no secret that many of us are reluctant to leave our community here at Dalat; however, when asked about this, Trevor Nichols (12) responded, "I feel like even though the end of the year is so near, all of us still don't use that as an excuse to be sorrowful, and instead seek to make the best of what little time we have left." 

This is very true; high school is a special time in our lives, and the memories we make here will be cherished for years to come. Planning and thinking ahead into the future is important, but it is also important to balance it with appreciating the present and enjoying the remainder of our senior year.

Overall, this semester represents a time of looking back at our high school experience while also looking ahead into the future. It contains a mixture of emotions, ranging from nostalgia for the past to the fear of uncertainty about the future. However, at the end of the day, it will not be long before we all graduate and start the next chapter of our lives, and we are all striving to make the most of our final semester of high school.