Walking into high school for the first time is new and exciting, but freshmen don’t realize how fast the time goes. Four years may seem to drag on, but it is important to take advantage of what high school can offer.

Senior year is the last chance high schoolers have to pursue new interests or continue old ones. Sophie Kraus is looking forward to her senior year.

“It’s great being the boss of the school but it stinks when you realize it’s your last time at everything,” Kraus said.

Senior Makenzie Silvey agrees it will be exciting to “rule the school” but she also isn’t ready to see her time at EHS end.

“It’s also sad because I don’t want to leave and live on my own,” Silvey said.

Although senior year is the last time to take advantage of opportunities in the school before college, it is important to become involved in some activity as a freshman. Silvey recommends becoming involved in high school athletics, whether it’s watching or playing them, in high school.

“I regret not going to many games my freshman year and just not having a lot of school spirit because [I was] scared of the upperclassmen,” she said.

While Silvey spent a lot of time on the basketball court, Kraus has spent the past year off the court taking pictures for yearbook.

“Yearbook has been my favorite part of high school,” Kraus said. “It helped me meet more people and become more of an extrovert. I definitely recommend joining as an underclassman.”

Kraus regrets not interviewing for yearbook until the end of her sophomore year.

“I have always loved taking pictures and I didn’t realize until the end of sophomore year that I wanted to be a photographer for yearbook,” Kraus said.

By taking advantage of opportunities, whether it is in sports, the arts, or academic and community based clubs, underclassmen will get to explore their interests and meet people who enjoy the same things they do.

Senior Emily Crutchfield has spent her time in high school pursuing her interests in drama club and orchestra.

“I’m really going to miss knowing all the faces on campus,” she said. “I’ve also really enjoyed being a senior, especially in orchestra because I get to help the underclassmen and pretend like I’m their mentor.”

It is also important to start focusing on academics as a freshman and take challenging classes, according to Crutchfield.

“I’ve seen a ton of people that don’t challenge themselves by taking the easiest classes they can to skate painlessly through the day, when it’s so boring to take classes that are too easy.”

Many students don’t want to take challenging classes because it takes extra time out of their schedule, but Crutchfield still stresses its importance.

“Figure out a system to study that works for you,” she said. “It might not be fun now, but you’ll have to work a lot less in the future.”