Identity
While at Indianola High School, I lead the life of your average teenager. I was presented with academic challenges that forced me to grow as a student. I joined clubs and organizations that allowed me to express my strengths and develop my weaknesses. And I attended games and events to stay involved and have fun. But I can’t say that each day of my high school career was smooth sailing. At times, I felt like I didn’t even know who I was. But that’s what growing up is all about. It’s okay to feel a little lost when you’re finding who you truly are. I have fond memories of everyone at IHS. My teachers and classmates have made such a positive impact on my life. But I’m truly looking forward to now making my mark on the world. I’m looking towards all of the possibilities that my future holds. And I’m especially thrilled to continue to grow into the woman I am meant to be.
Enjoying the Time Left
It seems like everyone jokes about wanting to be free of high school. I always hear how someone can’t wait to leave this prison and join the adult world. I may be the only one, but I am going to miss my high school experiences greatly. I don’t know if I’m ready to move on to the next level of my life. I barely got used to this step and now I’m expected to climb to the next one? For me, high school has been the greatest chapter of my life so far. It is in high school that one gets to experience the freedom of adulthood with the irresponsibility of adolescence. High school covers the entire range from college-level advanced placement courses to dressing like a moron for homecoming spirit week. It is in high school that a student gets the chance to try everything and finally start to figure out who he is as an individual. High school sports teach sportsmanship and how to step up to the plate as a team leader. Challenging academic courses teach dedication, perseverance, and how to have a good work ethic. Basically, high school prepares a student to fully become themselves, whether that is through college or entering the work force. The skills and life lessons learned in high school are invaluable, and I know I wouldn’t trade mine for the world. While everyone else in my school is counting down the days to summer, I am desperately clinging on to the time I have left.
Advice
Before you begin reading this and
think “Well gee, I’ve NEVER seen a senior describe their pent up emotions about
their high school experience”, hear me out. I don’t plan on preaching this idea
to you. Instead, I’m going to cheer you up!
While you’re going on a roller
coaster ride of emotions now, just look at the bright side. All these great
memories and the people you made them with…. Well, you’re probably going to
forget most of them. Don’t feel bad, that’s just life. Sure you may have those
few great friendships that last a lifetime (you lucky duck!), but you can’t
expect to keep track of ALL these people when you’re all diffusing throughout
the country. After all, feeble attempts at staying in contact with people from
high school are what Facebook was invented for!
But
don’t worry, as you go through college and into your adult life, you will
remember at least some of those great times you had. You’ll look back and
smile, and then you’ll get to look at where you are in life and how far you’ve
come. You’ve had a great four years, but now it’s time to move on. Why would
you want to live in the past? You know what’s in the past? No cure for polio
and no Netflix. Is that the kind of life you want? I didn’t think so. So move
forward into the next part of your life with excitement and make those new
memories.
Memories
As
I look back on my four years at Indianola High School there are two things that
really stick out in my mind. The first is how many fire drills and bomb threats
we had. We spent more time wondering if our school would burn down or blow up
than we did in class. The second thing is the outpouring of support our
community has for all of the activities at IHS. I was fortunate enough to
experience this first hand after the softball team won the State Championship.
So many members of the community showed their support before and after we made
the trip to Fort Dodge even though our arrival back in Indianola was way past
most of their bed times. My time at Indianola High School has been filled with
laughter and great memories. Deuces IHS.
Survived and Thrived
Congrats Seniors! We
survived. We survived three high school bomb threats (or bom treats), numerous
fire and tornado drills, and managing to eat lunch after the national mandated
"Healthy" Kids Act. We have survived the 2012 Mayan apocalypse and not
having 11:35 monthly dismissals. We have survived for 18 years now, and it is
finally time to show the world who we are. As we disperse off into the world,
we will not forget who we were in high school- we have all the facebook posts
and tweets to remind us how important everything was at the time. There have
been times in our lives that we have not only survived, but thrived. This senior class has
contributed to the school state championship debate team, state champion
softball team, the football team's first six-win season since [insert year],
and the chamber orchestra's best in center at contest. We have believed and we
have achieved! This does sound rather clichéd, but it has been said before for
a reason- it's the truth. Us seniors cannot escape the truth, because we can
always look it up on our cell phones. Let us use the "Carpe Diem"
expression for our graduation hurrah! And let us seniors remember, we have
thrived before, and we will certainly thrive again.
The Future
Congratulations, Class of
2013! It’s been an unforgettable
journey, but we’re just getting started.
Don’t worry about all of the “lasts” of high school, but think of all
the “firsts” to come. Our future is wide
open and the possibilities are endless! We
are the next generation of CEOs, business owners, doctors, and Wal-Mart
greeters. There is nothing we can’t do;
after all, we survived middle school, right?
Just be sure to keep moving when they hand you your diploma before they
change their minds.
Opportunities
As students at Indianola High School, we have been very fortunate. We have a pretty nice school and good academic, art, and sports facilities. The science wing was recently renovated, as well as the middle school. We now have our own field and field house with both an indoor and an outdoor track. We have baseball fields and access to Simpson College. Our high school has an auditorium/theatre that includes an instrumental pit, a fully equipped sound/electrics booth, catwalk, and a full rail. We have an entire wing dedicated to music which has two band rooms, a chorale room, a mirrored chorale room, two sets of show choir risers, and a room strictly for orchestra. It’s amazing we even have an orchestra program, let alone a great arts program. In addition to all of the sports, you can act, direct, paint, sketch, be on theatre crew, sculpt, design, dance, you get the point. Our school has provided us with many opportunities. We have chances to run on the track team and act in the play. Others play football and sing in show choir. Our school also offers many different clubs including art club, drama club, and science club. We compete in a 4A, CIML Metro conference for sports. We have the normal football team, cross country teams, swim teams, soccer teams, bowling teams, etc. But, if you want to branch out and you have a good eye, you can even join the trap team. Yes, there IS a team for that. We also compete in academic decathlon, science bowl, and recently, robotics. At football games, not only do we have a football team, but you can be entertained by cheerleaders and a halftime show of the dance and drill team, Impulse, and The Pride of Indianola Marching Band. Want to learn a different language other than English? IHS offers Spanish, French, and German. Like math? Join Mu Alpha Theta, our nerdy math club. Like to dance? Our dances include Homecoming, Sadie Hawkins/MORP, Sports Dance, MAD Dance, and Prom. If you want an academic challenge, take an AP class or a Simpson Class, or look into the DMACC program that’s starting up, next year. These are just some of the many things IHS offers to its students. We have the chance to take great classes and learn, as well as participating in groups and events outside of school. We are truly lucky to have all of these opportunities to do so many things.
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