“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” For many students, graduating from the High is something they have looked forward to since freshman year, but now that it’s here, it is nothing but bittersweet.

With graduation near, many seniors look back at what made their high school experience so memorable. “The first time I put on the Whippy costume for the first senior pep rally, it was an amazing, wild, and funny experience that I won’t forget,” said Otto Portillo.

“The friends I had made since middle school and the ones I made here in high school made my four-year memorable,” states Maria Maldonado.

Similarly, Maryelin Leal said that spending her four years with her best friend Noemi helped her get through high school.

Four Years at the High

Now that their years are finally coming to an end, seniors get to reflect on which year was the best. William Villalta says that freshman year was boring, sophomore year was relaxing, junior year was stressful, and, of course, senior was the best because of Grad Bash.

Similarly, Brandon Chappoten said that his freshman and sophomore year was boring because he was adapting to the new environment, but his senior year was the best because there were many senior activities.

Jillian Carballos said that her freshman year was relaxing; however, senior year has been stressful because it’s your final chance to stand out and get colleges’ attention.

Nathaniel Arias states that his freshman year was the most stressful because it was a new learning environment.  Maria Olivas says that junior year was the best because she joined majorettes.

Best Memories

The best memories are what we cherish the most. Ronald Duban greatest memories was in his first soccer game against Columbia, where he made a last-minute goal. Maria Maldonado said that she made the greatest memories on the college trip during junior year, the senior picnic, and pep rallies every year.

Jordan Lans’s greatest memories were attending Beta’s community services like Amigos for Kids, ING, and the Alzheimer’s Walk.

Noelia Garcia said, “Homecoming and Glow Fest exceeded my expectations because I never thought I could have so much fun attending school activities.”

Mohammad Hamad was extremely proud of himself when he passed the AP chemistry exam his junior year.

 Worst Memories

Melody Roth said her worst memory was pulling an all-nighter in 9^th grade for a project. Maryelin Leal’s worst memory was also freshman year when she got in trouble for cutting class.”

Bryan Montes said that his worst memory was senior year when he tripped during his presentation in his Italian class.

 Regrets

There are many things that seniors wish they would have done during their four years at Miami High but didn’t. Otto Portillo would have kept his grades up because now he is not satisfied with the GPA he has.  Similarly, Ronald Duban regrets not taking school seriously because he first started with a 3.5 GPA and now has a 2.7.

Michael Acosta wishes that he would have taken more AP classes because he knew he had the potential to do so, but he thought it would be hard to manage the amount of work AP classes give out. Maria Olivas really regrets not getting good grades in 9^th and 10^th grade.

Other seniors regret not being more involved. Vivian Amador wished that she would have attended Homecoming football games because she heard that there were extremely wild and fun. Jampier Iniguez regrets not being more social or participating with his classmates in school activities.

Relive  

Many seniors would love to relive the memories that brought excitement to their lives. “I would relive the time I was able to have Ms. Cardona as a teacher because when she taught us, she knew how to express herself in a way that made me feel like I was in another world,” states Manuel Baldizon. “Her creativity and spontaneous personality made AP Language class fun.”

William Villalta says that if he could go back and relive a high school memory, it would be the junior college trip. “I had a blast hanging out with my friends, and making them laugh was one of my personal highlights,” he said.

Madeline Reyes would go back to Senior Week activities like movie night, senior breakfast, and senior picnic “because it was time where I truly enjoyed my friends and realized how much I’m going to miss everyone.”  Karina Garcia would relive the time when she received the MHS Alumni Association scholarships, earning $500.

Valuable Lessons

Apart from the memories seniors have made these pass four years, many are walking out with a variety of lessons.  Nathaniel Arias said, “I learned that nothing is given to you; you have to earn it.” Wendy Jaime learned, “People come and go.”

Vivian Amador learned that people do change throughout the years, but you shoul
d focus on having fun and making your memories count.

“We gain responsibility in our lives,” said Raquel Canales. “We learn to do things on our own and the only important thing we should focus on is ourselves and reaching our goals.”