Wednesday, April 30 officially marked my final day of high school. But even as I write this, I can hardly believe that I will soon be an alumnus. The truth is, though classes may have finished, IB exams are just starting, and when you have such a grey cloud of stress clouding your vision, it is hard to think of anything but the avalanche of Paper 1s, 2s, and 3s just around the corner.

That’s why I wanted to take the opportunity to congratulate the class of 2014 on successfully surviving senior year—at least before the IB finishes taking our souls with its impossible exam questions. I also wished to look back and appreciate the great memories that we created during our time as members of the Graded community.

So, while journeying through the senioritis-filled hallway, I interviewed some of my fellow classmates to better understand what the class of 2014 felt about the beginning of the end.

According to Matt Dias, it hadn’t really sunken in that April 30 was technically the last full day of classes for most seniors: “It really hasn’t hit me yet, since I’m still going to see all of my friends and teachers at graduation.” McKenna Kiiskila seems to agree, adding “it doesn’t feel emotional to me at least, since it doesn’t feel like it’s the last day,” while Gabriella Marrufo highlights how conflicted she is regarding this past Wednesday. “It’s exciting, but nerve-wracking as well, since we still have exams but we are already done with school,” she says.

Other seniors, such as Lucas Ryan and Luke Murkowski, feel more saddened when thinking about their final final days of high school. Ryan explains that “it is very sad. It’s like reality is striking you in the face. It’s hard to believe that we finally got to the day that we all imagined getting to… and I’m not as happy as I thought I would be.” According to  Murkowski, “[this] actually is really sad.”

Furthermore, some seniors, such as Victoria Vergara, are so exhausted that they are finding themselves counting down the days until graduation while feeling the bittersweet sorrow of leaving a school they have been a part of for so long. “Senioritis has gotten so bad that I was so close to not coming to school today. But I mean, after 16 years of Graded, you kind of have to come to your last day of school ever.”

When asked what they would miss most about Graded, most seniors agreed that their friends and teachers would definitely leave them nostalgic at college: “I will miss mostly the people that I have just gotten to see every day and bond with for the past six years that I have been here at Graded, as well as the teachers that I love,” says Dias.

Besides missing their friends, Ryan and Luke seemed particularly saddened to think of life without our cafeteria’s fried chicken, while McKenna mentions how hard it will be to let go of our snack bar’s chocolate chip cookies, claiming that “they’re so great!”

So there you have it: a short summary of how some members of the Class of 2014 feel about their final moments as Graded students. I would like to wish everyone the best of luck on both their IB exams and their lives outside of our school’s brick walls.

Twenty-fourteen…SENIORS!