PAID
CLASS OF 2017 mihsislander.org
Friends, enemies, innocent bystanders: we have come a long way. From entering the high school not knowing where any of the bathrooms were and being too afraid to ask for the first three weeks, today we find ourselves at the top and on our way out. This year has been filled with triumph, disappointment, heartbreak and excitement. The next few days will be a culmination and conclusion to a journey that began four years ago. In many ways, however, it is also a continuation. Though our lives will change in many ways from the structure that we have known for the last four years, they will nonetheless continue. It is at this checkpoint that we should pause and reflect on the collective experiences that we have faced. One particularly bizarre moment for our grade occurred at the senior assembly in the end of our junior year. As the subject of this moment, its strangeness was exponentially compounded for me. As Cameron Whitman read his hysterically inappropriate extended metaphor about the worm, I found myself forced into a position that I would have never expected: flag dude. When I first heard my name, I was convinced Ashton Kutcher was going to run out of the shadows and welcome me to his prank show.
The Senior Issue • June 2, 2017
A letter from ASB President Luke Kenworthy Our class was also surprised that the flag had been passed down to someone rather atypical for the role, me. Found in this new position, I developed certain expectations for my senior year over the summer. I’m not going to say explicitly what those were, but I’m sure that you can get an idea and I can assure you that, in hindsight, the gap between expectations and reality is hilariously large. Many of us have faced similar realities. Maybe you thought that you would get into a college that you ended up not getting into, or you expected to find happiness in something that ended up disappointing. Thus presents a learning moment: what we expect to happen is rarely what ends up actually happening. Maturity comes in realizing that. Many of us
IN THIS ISSUE:
have expectations for the next year and I think it’s imperative that we recognize we simply do not have the power to predict our future. There will be surprises, there will be let downs, and that’s okay. We must learn to accept our inherent inabilities to change things and, instead, work with what we can control. Another moment that we experienced collectively involves our attire next week: the gowns. Faced with the proposition of having everyone wear maroon gowns and breaking from tradition, our class was polled and the results were resounding in favor of keeping things the same and splitting gown color by identified gender. Instead, next week we will all be donning maroon. The call occurred at the
Volume VI, Edition 7
administrative level after gowns had already been ordered. That fall, our class found itself in the face of a complex issue. As with virtually anything, there was no clear answer. People on both sides argued vehemently for their positions. From this experience, we can learn that our world is infinitely complex. An issue as simple as the color of gown we wear can have consequences far beyond what one would initially imagine. It is important to remember that virtually any important issue will not be black and white (or white and maroon!) Oftentimes, we like to oversimplify issues into a false dichotomy and vilify our opposition. In pursuit of the truth, we must recognize that one side is not definitely right and there is no simple answer, despite what we may want to believe. In the coming months, we will be facing a vast amount of change. For some of us, this will be drastic; for others, not so much. As we go on, we must reflect, adapt, and overcome. These next coming days will be hard as we say goodbye to what has been normal to us for the last four years. We cannot control this change. What we can control, is how we go forward, and in that, there is hope. Class of 2017, it’s been an honor. Thank you so much.
Journalism senior reflections..........................................10
Senior wills......................................................................2
Senior wills (cont.)........................................................11
Unsung heroes of the senior class.................................4
Advice from graduating seniors....................................12
Teacher goodbyes............................................................5
Reflections from the Class of 2017............................14
Thanking the teachers of MIHS....................................6
Memorable classroom moments...................................15
College map.....................................................................8
Collegiate athletes.........................................................16