class of 2022 the senior issue
2 | seniors
| the roar
tuesday, may 17, 2022
senior profiles profiles senior crossword crossword
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table of of contents contents table
the roar | seniors | 3
tuesday, may 17, 2022
Michael Peng
by ellie hague
Senior Micheal Peng’s notorious blue MIT sweatshirt has made many appearances during his senior year, both on the pool deck and while studying. Balance has always been an integral part of Peng’s life. This statewinning relay member had to learn early on to manage both swimming and his studies. However, his hard work paid off, and has plans of
attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall. Peng began swimming when he was age seven. “At first [swimming] was just to stay in shape. But then eventually it suddenly became something I actually really enjoyed,” Peng said. “[Swimming] keeps you responsible for yourself and helps you manage
As most graduating seniors pack their bags for college, trade school, or the military, senior Lydia Demlow will be packing hers for Granville, France. Through The Rotary Exchange Program, Demlow will be placed with a host family and attend an additional year of high school. “I’ll be in France for 10 months,” Demlow said. “And over the course of those months I'll be in the same city, going to the same school.” Without the disruptions of a busy schedule, experiencing a new country comes with extra benefits. “It's really just to get to know a language, a culture, and to get to see it from a different perspective,” Demlow said.
As an added benefit, Demlow will be able to explore France in addition to her studies. “We get to go sightseeing to some extent, even if I'm not stationed in Paris,” Demlow said. “I’ll get to see the Eiffel Tower, and maybe explore some more of Europe outside of France.” The reasoning behind her decision to live abroad came from a desire to take a break. “It’s a time to take a break before college and consider,” Demlow said. “While still having a productive life.” In addition, future aspirations played a part as well. “Right now I want to work internationally,” Demlow said. “Having this exposure in this low pressure environment is a
your life because you have to kind of figure out how to manage your time well.” However, Peng was first drawn to the idea of attending an Ivy-League university during his high school years. “Before high school, I didn't think I was smart enough to go to MIT,” Peng said. “But some of the friends I made in high school, like Zach [Wang] and Sabrina [Hu] influenced me to do a lot more, like extracurriculars and getting involved in a lot more academic stuff.” MIT is well-known for its world renowned academics, but what made Peng decide to attend MIT was ultimately the school environment. “There was an official visit back in October to [MIT]” Peng said. “On that official visit, everybody is really nice and the culture fits really well so that was like a tipping point that made me go with MIT. It's just a breath of fresh air because I've been in College Station my whole life, so I'm really excited for the future”
At MIT, Peng plans to major in computer science. “Originally I was trying to do chemistry, but I kind of slid out of [chemistry] and became more drawn to computer science,” Peng said. “Computer science is good because what you study at the high school, college level is what you get in the real world. In other subjects, what you study is not really the [knowledge] that will be applied in the real world.” In 2022, Peng was a swimmer on the state winning relay teams for both the 200 men’s freestyle relay and the 400 freestyle men’s relay and attributes his success to his love of the sport. “Do what you enjoy rather than what you think will help you get into a good college,” Peng said. “It's always important to pursue your passions instead of trying to craft an application that is good for jobs and colleges.”
Lydia Demlow by emmeline duhon
really valuable opportunity for my career path.” Demlow believes that this opportunity is valuable to anyone who wants to experience life outside the county on a low-stress level. “You don’t have to
be wanting to pursue an international career, or have any purpose in wanting to do it,” Demlow said. “It's just a way to learn more about the world, and you don’t even have to be familiar with the language or culture.”
4 | seniors
| the roar
Senior Antonio “Toni” West, is an artist. Not one with paint and pencils but an artist with words. Starting sophomore year he has been writing and then later releasing original songs under his stage name, Angel Tone. When first expressing interest in pursuing music as a career, West experienced lack of encouragement. “I first started saying, ‘I want to make music for a living, and it was more of a joke than a serious thing,” West said. “Others thought I wouldn't be successful at it, or have a good start,” Despite unsupportive people, West persisted. “Honestly, people being negative affected me a little bit in the beginning, but I made a song, I released it, and people liked it,” West said. Without a strong support system, West found his biggest supporter: himself
tuesday, may 17, 2022
“I motivate myself by staying true to myself and following my heart,” West said. “The negative gives me more motivation to do what I do that I like.” West doesn't want an aspiring musician to be limited by the people around them. “Go out there and pursue your goals no matter what,” West said. “You have to be your biggest supporter. You can't just listen to what other people say, because in the end, they're not really about them, and they don't know what you're capable of.” West found motivation and friendship in school organizations. “[I found] joining the choir and building long lasting friendships with people who have the same interests as me pushed me to pursue music,” West said. Next fall, West is attending
Joshua Leible by piper hitchcock
Olympic athletes on average train for thirty hours a week in order to reach their peak physicality for competition. Their regime includes a diet plan, exercise, and mentally preparing for their one sport, which combined uses most of their day. Now imagine participating in five Olympic sports. Cross country, swimming, fencing,
track and laser run combined to form the modern day pentathlon. Senior Joshua Leible truly embodies a student athlete, as he is currently a member of the National Guard and trains to participate in the Olympic pentathlon. Recently, he won second place for the junior men’s division at a
Toni West
by claire grace franklin
Texas State University to major in Sound Recording Technology with a minor in Business. “I feel at peace knowing that I don’t have a new start, but like a new beginning,” West said. “A new chapter in my life is coming up. It's a little scary, but I'm willing to embrace it.” competition in New Mexico, and qualified for the Youth World Championships. But on top of these accomplishments, he still maintains the life of a high school student. “I was on several high school teams for New Mexico Military Institute which allowed me to develop my skills quite fast,” Leible said. “I do maintain contact with my former teammates and coach. They give me pointers on what I could improve on, as it is a struggle to practice against one person compared to me being used to practicing against several other people. I met some great friends, which is why I really started getting involved in the pentathlon.” In order to further qualify for the Olympics, there are certain standards that have to be met by the athletes participating in the pentathlon. “You have to be able to get under ten minutes for the run,” Leible said. “Then when you get up to the laser stand, you have to be able to shoot five times in a row, hit the center [of the target] and not miss, or you will be stuck there for quite a while. For swimming, you really need to spend everyday in the pool trying to get
Instagram: @angel_.tone Spotify: @angel_.tone Apple Music: @angel_.tone YouTube: @angel_.tone
under a certain amount of time. Then for the equestrian part, it’s just about getting the jumps in. It’s really just a lot of training trying to get to the [Olympic] qualifying point.” Right now, Leible stays busy with his training and competitions in junior divisions, but has a larger plan for after high school that is projected to help qualify him for the Olympics. “My plan is to join the World Class Athlete program for the Army, where I’ll be able to train in Colorado,” Leible said. “Hopefully I will then qualify for the Panam games next year. For the Panam games you have to go to Chili, where it’s being hosted in the upcoming year, and I’d compete, come back, and then qualify for the Olympics.” After the Olympics, Leible wants to make a career out of his athletic knowledge and ability by helping others pursue their passion in the pentathlon. “Beyond the Olympics, I hope to end up taking a coaching position either here in the United States or for the Army, and to train the next generation of athletes,” Leible said.
the roar | seniors | 5
tuesday, may 17, 2022
While jumping into the new choreography of college, senior Courtney Browder color guard performer continues her legacy. As she kickstarts her college career, she plans to continue her color guard journey and start a color guard team of her own. “I hope to start attending Sam Houston State University this summer,” Browder said. “I’m striving for my bachelors in sociology and joining their color guard team to perform at winter guard internationals.” In addition to joining the color guard team, Browder plans to use her degree to get a job in humanities and start her own color guard team. “My primary motivation is my dream to have my own guard,” Browder said. “[This goal] has helped me to work extra hard and to practice a little bit more every day. I know that by doing this there will be future plans and opportunities for the kids who may join.” Browder hopes to build a color guard not only for the love of the sport, but as an opportunity to give others that same experience. “For me, being in color guard kept me out of so much trouble and it opened my eyes up to another part of the world,”
Browder said. “The sport has grown on me so much over the years and it has helped me to be the person that I am today. I want to be able to give someone else that same opportunity.” This upcoming transition brings Browder mixed feelings towards the opportunity she has been presented with. “My main feeling is just overwhelmed,” Browder said. “Now that I’m starting by allison segers college and hopefully a color guard team of my own, I feel like I “Work really hard for what you want have so much to do and not enough time. to do in life and never give up,” Browder But on top of that I’m extremely excited. said. “I almost did at the beginning of the I’ve been dreaming of this moment in year and looking at myself now I would’ve my life for four years and now that it’s called that moment the biggest mistake becoming a reality I don’t know where to of my life. Never let people tell you that start.” what you want to do isn’t important or it’s Despite the task ahead, Browder a waste of time. Nobody else is going to is grateful for the opportunity and live your life but you, so do something you encourages others to pursue their passions. love.”
courtney browder
consol crossword
across
3. ghost of consol 8. student body president 9. consol’s villain 10. each happy memory… to____ 11. consol’s school show 12. consol’s dance team
down
1. assistant principal known to ID 2. school mascot 4. thanks, and have a _____ day 5. marvel obsessed teacher 6. favorite fast-food restaurant after football games 7. history department head
6 | seniors | the roar
oh, the places we’re going... alabama
new york
ryan scruggs
sarah hathorne sean zhang
auburn university laurel brumbelow
university of alabama isabel medrano
cornell university
ohio
arkansas
hiram college
halley daniel
oklahoma city university
hope graves
ouachita baptist university university of arkansas
oklahoma jordan reynolds
illinois
oklahoma state university
university of illinois chicago
university of oklahoma
rayyan hirani
jade chapman
pennsylvania
kathryn crosthwait
harlan cox michelle hitt
wheaton college silas merrel
lousiana
university of pennsylvania kelly he
kedren robertson kelton ratcliff kendall matthews kianna ealoms klayton sheffield lacey ray layla burton logan catalina lyndon williams madison swanson major shulse marisa sanchez marissa hurtado matthew browne mohammed khairallah morgan shaffer natalie genzer nevaeh gomez nnemaka obiazi
lousiana state university
university of pittsburg
weston pate
rhode island
faith taylor
zachary wang
lamar university
nicholls state university claire sisco
tulane university ava derbes brodie daniel
maryland
dallas cedar valley college
evelyn torres
houston community college
brown university
hasan habbal
texas
tiyana ross
baylor university
navarro college
hailey buenemann
andrew arthur chase sodolak sarah waller allison segers
odessa college
johns hopkins university
blinn college
valeria macri
abigail hawkins abigail murphy adeline pfeiffer alvin anthony martinez amber carnes amy zapata analise zaragoza andrew mays angelina cadena ari howard ashley salanic aviana ramirez ben schimdt benjamin ross bianca escamilla bradley george brooke herron brynn lund cameron harris christian robinson christian bonasera christian dalsing christopher holder christopher oldham
stevenson university
massachusetts boston baptist college keeley lloyd
brandeis university eric xiao
harvard college sabrina hu
massachusetts institute of technology gabriel guillen michael peng
minnesota
university of minnesota laena lindahl
nebraska
university of nebraska camryn capek
catelyn cox
new hampshire
university of new hampshire angeles olguin
noah thomass rodney lanier ruben henderson samara mendoza sheranga hayasinghe sofia fusselman timothy bacani trinity nguyen troy davis wyatt mcdougal yulaiva valdez
cullen homeyer david may jr. dawt bor chin daytyn tognazzini diana salmon drekavian minor elijah hausworth emaneuel bravo emma edmondson emma taylor fernanda aviles garrett cryer hunter bond ja’den johnson jaden thomas james golla jamond debose jennifer ramirez jolie sanchez jon cavazos jordan griffin juan avila juan rios kaitlyn ruiz
carson kerbel rosa trujillo
prairie view a&m university chance johnson
mariah malone
rice university andrew larsen
sam houston state university abigayle luca alexis johse amyria barrera brylan jr. dailyn mora trejo emma forman harley taylor
jade williams maison morgan olivia sellers payton smith rebecca rowan tristan szymanski
southern methodist university heather goldsby
rhett larson
stephen f. austin state university jackson shannon zoe sakson
tcs post grad academy wesley boedeker
texas a&m university abigail wilson adrian moreno aiyana coleman alina maknojia
tuesday, may 17, 2022
aliza maknojia amirkia dardashti andrew sorescu anna rogovska aseer charolia austin comte avery hutchinson barton melder brooke bond brooke steel brylee morgan calvin lindberg caroline williams carson seiber casey killingbeck christian bonasera claire grace franklin cole eckhardt connor mcguire daniel juarez daniella cornado destinee llanes elana kiser elizabeth quast ellie hague emma pahl emmeline duhon evelyn brieden faith wenck fariha zahid gabrielle harrison genna guerra grace linder gretchen barrow hannah treider harshali sharma hunter melder james bright jamie seigel jawei zhang jordan kissee joshua leible julia henderson
julie pembelton junior pham katie melnyk katya sokolova kuan lin kyleigh taylor laila navarro lauren parrent luis hurtado luke caverlee madeline holmgreen marissa patti megan downie meghan moore meghan pany meredith mcfayden mia lartigue miah howard parker kuhn piper hitchcock porter garner porter lemons rachel hitt raisa prasla rebecca kumar reese ragusa ronnie smith sameritta pappoe samuel chew sandy avila seleste malano seth goble shelby morgan stephen fink tanner poage thomas crawford tyler wright tyndall mcnamara victor almaraz will askew zane jacob
dakota bryant nathan smith
erica gritter
texas tech university donovan casiano tara hines
texas woman’s university molly keefer
university of houston lizeth duran-martinez
university of north texas dohyun lee emma barrow isabella baxter
lyric oliver sarah barrow lauren youngblood
university of texas at arlington nahel levy
university of texas at austin abby garrett cameron zavala evelyn conway freddie behmer giancarlo iero harper cunningham
jeremy no lauren hightower leanne ji max pellois robert behmer zane wright
university of texas at san antonio addison putz
utah
aymen ibn elfarouk
brigham young university
texas a&m university at galveston emily crowder samuel eubanks
texas a&m university at san antonio precious ahaneku
texas state university hayden rye toni west joycelyn finch
army chase lindsey
marine corps rickazi minns
navy
courtney browder
international john cabot university elaine castro
maren rasmussen
rotary international france
joshua smart
university of glasglow
the university of utah
vermont
university of vermont
texas a&m university at corpus christi
alexis juarez angelo demetrio
the roar | seniors | 7
heidi landeros
virginia
virginia tech brandon topf
washington d.c.
the george washington university mary maltsberger
wisconsin
wisconsin university at madison aideen gabbai
lydia demlow emilia turner
gap year
gabriel stanfield lillian brewster madison lang sophia skelton-rodriguez theodoros dallis angela harry
trade school anna nieto briahnie reese bryce watters grayson wingfield madison spencer marc blevans
workforce
alexis alvarado avianna hayes cason garner devon horn fatima rodriguez gerardo salinas-aranda jay mccaroll john schulz johnathan minor kiara felder stockton trant
other
kat simmons treyvon allen
8 | seniors | the roar
editor-in-cheif
claire grace franklin The yearly tradition is that during the last six weeks of the semester the seniors break off from the staff and create the ‘senior issue’ while the remainder of the staff put together the regular 16 page issue. I can recall, freshman year, sitting in the back of the newspaper lab watching and hearing the two lone seniors create their own issue. Sam and Olivia, they were the coolest people ever to me as a 14 year old. They were intelligent, hardworking, amazing people, and I wanted to be just like them. I worked for three years to become editor in
I am sitting in fifth period with some of my closest friends. Everyone is laughing over the exciting tales of the long weekend. Laughing is contagious, so I’ve heard. So why can I only spare a fake grin? At the moment, I feel like the pain will never end. I’m trapped in my head, with no bail in sight. Every couple of weeks, my brain digs a hole so deep I can’t hear the alarm that is supposed to wake me from this horrible dream I call my life. Although, there’s nothing wrong with my life, everything I need I have. So why does taking a shower, talking to my family, or doing homework make me want to claw out of my own skin? I knew I had a problem when I took four math tests in one day because I didn’t have the strength to take them earlier. When I overindulged in food because it was consistent. When I couldn’t stand the sight of my mangled appearance glaring at me through the mirror. When I watched three true crime documentaries in a single day. Most significantly, when I started to believe that I had nothing to offer to anyone around me, I was dead weight. Getting help is tricky. In my head, I knew that I needed it, but it was embarrassing to submit to what I couldn’t control. Previously, I always felt that I was stronger than everyone else, that I alone could somehow outweigh statistics. Being wrong was earth-shattering. It also felt ridiculous, there seemed to be no cause, my life is good. I have no trauma. No poor relationships. No reason. That’s what was the most painful, it robbed me of my reason. By the summer before senior year, I was in therapy.
tuesday, may 17, 2022
chief and it finally happened. Now I am in their shoes. I am breaking off from the staff I have worked so hard with to write and create five wonderful issues. It feels like the end of something I never thought would happen. I never thought I would reach the time when I was working on MY senior issue. I never thought I would be sitting with my fellow seniors writing profiles on the people of the senior class. I never thought I would be making a map that has the names of everyone in the senior class and what they are doing after graduation. I thought the senior issue was just a figment of my imagination. Maybe I thought the world would spontaneously combust before my eyes and I would never be in Sam and Olivia’s shoes. Even if they don’t remember me, they have made such an impact on my newspaper career, and I am forever grateful for them. As I’m writing this, it is my last ‘late night’ followed by my last 10:30 p.m. drive home from school. In a few weeks I’ll be assisting the new executive staff with my last publishing day, and one day after that I will have my last 20 minute drive to the Eagle to pick up the papers, with a pit stop at Dutch Bros. Then all the staff members will come down to the ‘Roar famous Subaru’ and haul the stacks of paper up to the second floor and leave them on the round table. And following we will all come together the next morning at 7:45 and hand out papers and end the morning by eating doughnuts and missing the first period to talk about the ever growing quote wall and the last six weeks.
Everything has come full circle. Truth be told, I have been looking forward to graduation for months. I have had a countdown on my phone with the days remaining until graduation for over 130 days. I have been planning my college experience on pinterest, making countless lists of what I need to do and buy; I have been romanticizing how much I want to leave this school. After taking a step back and sitting in the newspaper lab alone during study hall, I have realized I will never get to say “bye y’all, see you tomorrow” to the staff in the newslab. As cheesy as it sounds it has been how I ended my day almost every seventh period of senior year. For four years I have ended the day with Newspaper. I’ve cried, laughed, eaten copious amounts of food, made some of my closest friends and saying goodbye is going to be more difficult than I thought. Whilst I know I will not be pursuing journalism after high school, I will forever be grateful and appreciative for everything being on the Roar staff and Mr. Williams has taught me over the past four years.
I soon realized it was not the best option for me, I felt as if everything they were telling me, I knew about myself. I figured out as I was talking to my therapist, that my biggest enemy was myself. Again, it’s tricky. I gained some knowledge, mostly on how to get myself out when I feel myself going in. Now it was up to me. My issues I realized stemmed from being isolated, an entire year of online school was anything but beneficial. A couple of texts later… I began to become more and more dependent on social interactions. Constantly out with friends, I slowly began to recognize my smile for what it once was, genuine. When school started back up, I was beyond nervous thinking about going back to in-person. Although, for the first few weeks, I relished the routine. To-do list after to-do list made me feel proud of what I achieved, even if it was as small as folding laundry. Slowly, I was becoming more like myself. My senior year has been the most important of my life, forcing me to confront the mangled girl in the mirror. A big part of this transition was the newspaper. Over the years, the staff has become one of my sources of laughter. My fondest memories of this year stem from late nights, trips, and competitions. Being a part of the newspaper is in itself something much bigger. I get to share the experiences of my fellow classmates with the school, and shed light on their lives, through trial and triumph. I have a purpose here. On a serious note, being a part of the newspaper helped me to regain who I truly am. Despite my growth, I am nowhere near complete
happiness, I don’t know if there will ever come a time where that’s the case. On occasion, I still spend Saturdays in bed, or come to school in the makeup I cried in the night before. The difference is how I deal with the days following. I’ve learned that it’s okay to allow myself to have off-days, healthy even, but at some point, I have to peel myself from my bed. Get out from under my personal gray cloud, and do something that would make junior year Emmeline smile.
Claire Grace will be attending the Texas A&M University to major in Urban & Regional Planning.
Emmeline will be attending the Texas A&M to major in Chemistry.
feature editor
emmeline duhon
the roar | seniors | 9
tuesday, may 17,
The ignorant American is all but a veal waiting for slaughter. Wrenched from the womb, the calf is then pushed into a small kennel, a door made of iron bars shut in their face. This is the way the veal lives its eighteen week life, malnourished and confined in order to keep the weight of its body off its bones. But for a miniscule period of time when the calf is released and its owner beckons it forward, they experience their first taste of liberty. What the calf does not understand, however, is that most times this is no freedom at all but the widening of the bars. This same illusion lays the foundation for American politics, and those in power can only hope we don’t see the bars. America often prides itself on progressive legislation, which is why we sing the hymn of its glory, proclaiming this country the land of the free-- for who? Is it the land of the free for those caught self-medicating marijuana or using it recreationally, then serving more jail time than the molesters who prowl the streets at night? And I can assure you it's not the land of the free for the 57.8% of our country’s population that are racial minorities and only spoken for as 22% in the House of Representatives. Not for the Indigenous tribes and territorial citizens who are also affected by American legislation, but get no vote and no representative in the House. It’s not the land of the free for women who are being told what to do with their bodies, such as those in Ohio, who under recent revisement of parental rights can be sued by their rapists’ family to carry a child concieved from sexual assault to term. Not for women like the pregnant Marshae
Jones, who experienced a miscarriage when shot in the stomach, but was guilty of manslaughter on the basis that she antagonized the murderer. Or the other ten percent of our incarcerated population that have been wrongly convicted, totalling to 200,000 people. And especially this is not the land of the free for the LGBTQ community who are undergoing legislative attacks in the states of Florida, Idaho, Tennessee, Louisiana, Arizona, and Texas where introducing homosexuality to students predisposed to heterosexuality from day one, would absolutely be a form of grooming and child abuse. The America that we live in doesn’t sound like the land of the free to me, and it sure shouldn’t to you. Current legislators have continued to allow these atrocities to occur. These are the people speaking for us in Congress. Today’s youth is widely misrepresented and disproportionate when it comes to voter turnout. Through not participating and remaining politically inactive, we are handing over the vote to the white, wealthy and elderly who already rule the system. To truly become the home of the brave, we need to stay aware of social changes impacting our generation, we need to congregate in the streets and demand our shouts to be heard in Capitol Hill where the white man sits behind his desk prioritizing his directory. The first step to changing the system is political knowledge. In this country, ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is not bliss when it elects politicians who are willing to risk general welfare in order to pass their agenda. We have a responsibility as citizens to not only show up to the ballot
opinons editor
ingredients for spaghetti, salad, garlic bread, and my mom’s special peach cobbler. We cooked together, ate together, and finished the day with a snow cone, my favorite summertime treat, from JJ’s snow cone stand, all the way in Bryan. Despite this grandeur of a meal, the anxiety of another marching season was overwhelming. I felt like a prisoner on death row receiving their last meal. But, looking back on that day, there was something more that was upsetting me. The Itch was tugging. This wasn’t just the final day of a free summer, this was the final day of my final summer of my final year of high school. Suddenly I got caught up in the whirlwind of marching band. Twelve hour days don’t give you enough time to mourn the loss of your senior year summer. All you care about is drinking water and finding an air conditioner. Although barely registerable in my day to day life, the itch’s presence still remained throughout the fall semester, a black shadow looming over me. I didn’t feel sad or nostalgic on the first day of school, I barely even remember the day. It felt comfortable even, everyone in my classes I had been with for the last four years, if not even longer. I probably was just mad that we had a band the next day. But there were moments when the itch hurt. It wasn't in the moments you’d expect. The itch was not present when I was getting ready for homecoming or going to the halloween party of the century. The itch was not there for the first day of senior or making state marching band. However, the Itch was ever present during the long nights awaking worrying about nothing, the long car rides with no destination in sight, it was the lazy sunday afternoons, and band bus rides. It ate at my side as I flipped
ellie hague
At the beginning of senior year I developed an itch. At first I thought it was dry skin, then eczema then, well, I didn’t really know what it was. All I knew was that there was a burning need to scratch the side of my hip until my fingernails filled with skin, and my brain could move onto more important things. The Itch began during the summer band. Long hot days, drilling the same music, the same marching forms over and over again. Every year I’ve marching band camp, every year it is miserable. But before the start of the blisteringly hot twelve hour days in the student parking lot, I spent my last day of freedom with my mom. We went to the store, bought
executive editor
piper hitchcock
box, but also inform ourselves of the political system and its implications. Only this knowledge, participation, and spreading awareness will bring hellfire to the patriarchy and rebirth our country as the land of the free. Liberty is nothing more than the distance between a hunter and his prey. If our generation is to remain politically ignorant and inactive, we will be giving up our freedoms like a tender veal on a shiny platter, placed right into the hands of the hungry sociopaths who eat it.
Piper will be attending the Texas A&M University to major in Pyschology.
through the photos I had taken for the newspaper of the homecoming dance. I saw people who I talk to every day, and some people who I barely even glance at in the halls. They were all having the time of their lives, dancing their hearts out. It burned like fire on my hip when I gained friends my senior year who I had never even thought twice about, and lost friends I had loved forever. The itch ached more than my first heartbreak, bringing tears to my eyes, making them puffy and red the next day. The itch was the only sign that I was even upset about leaving this behind at all. I've probably said that I've wanted to leave high school more times than I've been lost in nostalgia. High school is hard; homework, drama, friends, and other unnamable numerous difficulties make any high schooler's life very, very hard. It is a natural feeling to want to move on. Because if we stopped and dwelled on it, if we weren't taken on college tours, or paid money to start working grown-up jobs, the itch may eat us alive, and we would never leave. High school wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I thought I would have a storybook romance, excellent grades, definitely less crying spells and perfect hair. But I found so much more than what was in my daydreams that I never even expected to discover. The itch on my hip may bug me to no end, but the itch in my heart, my brain, soul, grieving the senior year may just be more than I can bear. Ellie will be attending the Texas A&M University to major in Visualization.
10 | seniors
tuesday, may 17, 2022
| the roar
entertainment editor
allison segers
“The kindest gift you can give to someone is your time.” I have heard these words a lot growing up, however, until now I do not think I really understood what these words mean. As a six year old kid, my seventh birthday felt like worlds away. We don’t even mention my tenth birthday, that felt like it belonged to a whole other life. A milestone that felt impossible to reach. As a kid I thought I would have all the time in the world, and time did not always feel like a gift. Because I felt that I had all this time, the days would drag as I would run around and find some mischief to
get into. I would spend each day going to school, playing tag at recess and then proceeding to come home and do the same. And even though I would move up each year. First grade one year, second grade the next and then so on, time still felt frozen. Yeah, I was getting older, but I still had just as much time as I did when I was six. Cause after all, eight years old is still just as far from ten as being six is. Then before I knew it I was no longer in elementary school. Because fifth grade was such a huge jump from fourth back then. All the same, however, I still had a ton of time. My family was going nowhere. I was going nowhere. Afterall, I was giving people my time. I would finish my school work as usual and always go play for hours on end with my siblings. But I took that for granted. I had as much time as I wanted to spend with them. Did I not? Then I was in middle school, and suddenly my friends were more fun to spend time with than my family was. The simple fact being because they were my age, and we were bonded over the same interests. And of course they knew better. Yeah, right. But like I said before I thought I had all the time in the world, did it really matter that I was spending less and less time with my family? Then before I knew it I was a freshman. Which was a pretty significant jump. The thing was I had different classes and different schedules than all my friends the year before. I found myself with a whole new set of friends. That was when I started to realize
that people come and go, but my family never did, not in that way anyway. But as a freshman, my senior year still felt so far away. I had so much time left. That is how I thought. My time is cruel and it waits for no one. Now I am a senior. And in all honesty, I feel like my life got away from me a little. After the passing of my great-grandmother last year, as well as my upcoming graduation, I have started to realize that even the people who stick with you can not stay with you forever. I have realized, however, that while I can not stop time, I do have the power to choose how I spend it. People don’t remember you for what you said. People don’t remember you for what you did. But people will remember you for how you make them feel. What I’ve found is that it’s often the smallest moments that are the most meaningful. Gifting your time to someone, especially when you don’t have to often leaves the biggest impact. Whether that be going out to eat with your mom, dropping by your grandparents’ house just because, or spending time with younger siblings, it is the little things that matter. And trust me, what I’ve learned this past year is that no matter how busy you are, you’ll never regret spending time with those you love. Allison will be attending the Baylor University to major in Communications, Sciences, and Disorders.
senior senior survey survey have you cheated on a test?
have you pulled an all-nighter for school?
have you fallen asleep in class?
67% NO 33%
76% NO 24%
49% NO 51%
YES
YES
have you read an entire book for english?
35% NO 65%
YES
YES
Have you used someone else's school ID?
43% NO 57%
YES
100 seniors surveyed
the roar | seniors | 11
tuesday, may 17, 2022
blast from the past 2019
2020
2021
2022