Moving onto new adventures

Senior Aaron Sims moves to Atlanta after graduating at the semester

After his early graduation, senior Aaron Sims poses with his friends on his last day in St. Louis before moving to Atlanta. Seniors Tommy Wehrmeister, Jacob Jehling, Emily Kerber, Aaron Sims and Cameron Jehling spent a lot of winter break together celebrating Kerber’s birthday and Sims’ soon departure. “I was worried about making new friends [in Atlanta] because I had such a great group of friends in Missouri. I was worried about learning how to interact with other people, but it turned out to be pretty easy. I miss all of my friends back in Missouri. I was happy to be able to make new friends here,” Sims said.

Sara Sims

After his early graduation, senior Aaron Sims poses with his friends on his last day in St. Louis before moving to Atlanta. Seniors Tommy Wehrmeister, Jacob Jehling, Emily Kerber, Aaron Sims and Cameron Jehling spent a lot of winter break together celebrating Kerber’s birthday and Sims’ soon departure. “I was worried about making new friends [in Atlanta] because I had such a great group of friends in Missouri. I was worried about learning how to interact with other people, but it turned out to be pretty easy. I miss all of my friends back in Missouri. I was happy to be able to make new friends here,” Sims said.

With a house that sold fast and a plan to graduate early, senior Aaron Sims and his family decided to move to Atlanta at the end of Sims’ first semester as a senior. 

Sims’ top choice for college is Piedmont University in North Georgia, where he hopes to pursue a career in radiology, nursing or medical imaging. With his family planning to move to Atlanta anyway, and his mom following a job opportunity, moving seemed like the right choice for Sims. 

“I am glad that I am back [in Atlanta.] The weather is nice. I have been applying to jobs and relaxing,” Sims said. “I don’t know what I am going to do. I don’t start college until September. I can do a full-time job and not a part-time job, and I can have a longer summer break.” 

Sims took a lot of summer courses to meet the required credits so he could graduate early, including Walking for Fitness and Health. Now, he is happy to be out of high school and exploring his options in life.

“This summer, I’ll have an extra four months to do something between now and before college. I find that nice because maybe it will help me discover something I want to do in the future,” Sims said. 

Although he misses his friends from St. Louis, Sims is planning to travel with them over the summer in hopes to keep in touch. But he also tries to focus on the positive aspects of being done with high school. 

I don’t have to go to school anymore. I don’t have to be stressed about my grades. I can take my time and relax, which I think is the best thing [about graduating early.] I don’t have to worry about having to fit into a stereotype of a group, which is how I felt back in high school. I feel like after graduating, I realized none of that matters. All that mattered to me was having a group of really good friends, and I accomplished that,”

— Aaron Sims