by Kristen Schulze

  I hate to bring it up again, but there is one thing hanging heavily on the minds of seniors this time of year: plans for after graduation. This is the time to make an important decision in your life, and it's probably going to be the biggest change you've experienced up to now. Personally, I'm not used to having to make choices about things that really matter. Sure, sometimes its difficult to choose between the green shirt and jeans or the cute skirt ensemble, but I'm talking about a really huge decision that will affect your whole life. High school concerns aren't that big of a deal
(sex, drugs, or rock n' roll?). Right now, the biggest thing we have to worry about is how to put off writing a measly five page paper for English.
Whether you're planning to travel, go to college, join the armed forces, or work, it's going to be a huge change. For the first time in most of our lives, we'll be on our own, more or less. Sure, the freedom will be great, but with it comes restraining responsibilities. If we live in an apartment, we'll have to pay for things we always took for granted. And we'll need to take care of ourselves, physically and emotionally, without the help of a single person we know. Most of us have known the same people for years, not to mention our family, so it will be a little difficult to just say "So long!" to it all. Besides all that, we're going to change and grow, and we won't even know the people who we are right now. Is it just me, or does that

scare anyone else?
  "Changes aren't permanent, but change is" (Rush, "Tom Sawyer"). I guess what I'm trying to say is that we can never go back to being as carefree and irresponsible as we are now. You might say "Hey, I'm responsible. I pay for my own
car and have a job and blah blah blah..."  But you're still not your own person as long
as you live with  Mommy and Daddy. Freedom will be sweet, but the price... I urge you to look at all the advantages of what you have right now and enjoy it to the highest extent, while we still can (that goes for underclassmen, too). That's why I'm writing this type of article now instead of in May. By then, it'll be too late for us. It's time to grow up. Even though we've thought that to be glamorous since we were five, I think we all realize now what it entails.
I felt my stomach tighten when Mr. Lachapelle mentioned at the assembly that we need to buy our caps and gowns. For our graduation. Everyone else has had a cap and gown, but I never thought it'd be me. Making plans for after graduation is only one of the huge decisions we'll have to make in our lifetimes. It is exciting and frightening at the same time. What I worry about most is the friends I've made here at LHS. It's not just my friends who I'll miss, but also the people I see in the hall and don't know their names, or the people who wouldn't know mine. All I can say to
the class of 2000 is this: Don't stress out over your plans, whatever they may be; you only have one senior year in high school to enjoy. Second, make sure you come to our reunions, no matter how far away you are.