By Sydney Lauro
With first semester coming to an end, HHS seniors begin reflecting on the pros and cons of senior life so far, but also of their expectations for the rest of the year and the upcoming senior activities.

Seniors have several privileges that the younger grades do not. The main privilege is that they get to leave during study hall.

“I’m a big fan of being able to leave during studies. I love having the option of going out to eat or going home to take a nap in the middle of the day,” said senior Danielle Hoyt.

In addition to privileges, highlights of senior year include a special entrance at the Pep Rally and senior Halloween, both of which occurred back in October, senior assassin, and senior week, including the much anticipated boat cruise.

“Most of the senior privilege stuff has been pretty much as good as I expected it would be. I suppose Pep Rally wasn’t quite as awesome as I thought it would be, but even then it was still really fun,” said Hoyt.

Senior class treasurer Tyler Mikulis said, “The only part about my privileges that I have found disappointing is the lack of time that I have to use them. Unfortunately, I only have one study.”

Despite all these special privileges, various students have noted that their favorite part of senior year is enjoying the relationships they have formed over the past four years with both their peers and teachers.

“I feel like our class has gotten so much closer through the years,” said senior Sara Johnson.

“I love the relationship that I have with the teachers and other adults at the school. I am, hopefully, more mature this year…and I feel as though I have better bonds with them this year,” added Mikulis.

Other students explain that their new leadership position in the school and that they are able to be role models for the underclassmen, like their upperclassmen had been for them, are their favorite parts about being a senior.

“A senior is kind of idolized in Hopkinton. You’re really a leader for the incoming freshman, sophomores, and even juniors, because you’ve been here for four years and it’s understood that you kind of have experience that they don’t have,” said senior student council president Joshua Perez.

“I like the idea of people knowing that I am a senior. We worked hard all the way through school and that hard work is finally going to pay off,” senior Nicholas Curry added.

The current seniors have also said that senior year is, in many ways, more relaxing than their previous years in high school, despite the tedious and stressful college application process.

“Making sure every part of your application gets to every school by their individual deadline is extremely stressful. Although, waiting for colleges to reply after you’ve applied is even worse,” exclaimed Hoyt.

Many seniors agree that the college application process is the worst part of senior year for them. However, several students find that the fact that this is the end of high school for them to be even worse and highly emotional.

“Once we’re done, we’re done. Come June 7th, there may be some groups that are never together entirely again. There are some people I will not see for years. That, to me, is tragic. Especially since we spend so much time bonding as a grade this year,” said Mikulis.

This sense of nostalgia is heightened for seniors because of all the senior activities they get to participate in, which causes them to realize that “this is the end”.

“Senior week is kind of like the last full time we really get to be together as a class, and again, it really makes me nostalgic,” said Perez. “I think that’s going to be emotionally strenuous for a lot of people. I know that I myself will probably be one of them.”

Despite how fun and emotional senior year is, academics are still a large part of senior life. From finally getting to take AP Psychology, by far the most popular class offered at HHS, to challenging oneself with difficult courses, seniors have a lot on their plates as college applications and acceptances roll in.

“AP Calculus and AP Physics are very difficult, and there’s a heavy workload for all of my classes,” said senior Sara Johnson.

On the flipside, some students are really enjoying the challenges their classes present them with. Classes like AP Government and AP Psychology have both been considered worth the effort to many students and along with various others are only offered to seniors.

“The best class I’ve ever taken is AP Psychology,” said Hoyt. “The teachers are amazing, the class is fun, and the subject matter is interesting. I’m not saying it’s easy, it still takes a lot of time and effort, but I love it so much that I don’t really mind.”

Whether it’s academics, fun class activities, status in the school, or privileges, senior year is a special experience widely enjoyed by most in the class of 2013. While many say that they cannot wait to escape high school, the atmosphere is generally positive in the senior class.

“A lot of students don’t really understand how much fun going to school is…there’s so much to school besides taking tests and getting grades. It’s almost a fixation on the academic part about it and checking off a box that you can get into a great college that really ruins school for some people. We’ll never get a chance to relive our time in high school,” concluded Perez.