Senior Sakenah Lajkem: Hi West.

Senior Serena Liu: Welcome to “Senioritis,” where we do a lot of complaining. 

Lajkem: When we’re not complaining, we dive into the ups and downs of our senior year.

Liu: I’m Serena.. 

Lajkem: and I’m Sakenah.

Liu: On today’s episode, we’ll be talking about the start of senior year and looking back to our… somewhat unconventional start to high school. 

Liu: So, being a senior feels really weird. I remember walking in on the first day of freshman year…through the doors to my bedroom, where I did all my classes because it was virtual. I just remember being so excited for high school.

Lajkem: Well, we went on lockdown in the middle of eighth grade, and then we started freshman year still on lockdown. So my freshman year felt more like a continuation of my eighth grade year. So, I didn’t really feel that much of a difference. And also, most of my friends from my middle school, went to my high school from freshman year. So I mean, I was pretty comfortable, but it’s just I didn’t feel like I was starting high school at all. It felt like I was doing another year of middle school.

Liu: Yeah, freshman year definitely did not feel like freshman year. So, we had a super long lunch break, and we had four hours of classes.

[Applause]

Liu: I kind of miss that, but I probably would have gone crazy without field hockey getting me out of my house.

Lajkem: How long was your lunch break? 

Liu: I think it was an hour long.

Lajkem: An hour-long lunch? Now we have 30 minutes.

Liu: Well, I mean, at home you have to cook and stuff. But I would just go to the McDonald’s with my sister.

Lajkem: Everyday?

Liu: Not every day but after a test. So, you didn’t go to a Parkway school. What was virtual learning like for you?

Lajkem: We moved a lot during that virtual year. We went from Michigan, to my uncle’s house in Alabama, then back to Michigan, then to Missouri. And we’re still here.

Liu: So, do you remember any of your classes?

Lajkem: I remember like two or three of them. My favorite class was English because we just watched Hamilton the entire time. I swear we didn’t learn anything. I don’t remember learning a single thing freshman year because it was all online.

Liu: I think with the pandemic, it feels like we missed out on a whole year both academically and socially. So, I came back in person for a couple of weeks second semester [of] freshman year, but after my older sister immediately got COVID-19, we decided to return virtual into my sophomore year. And then sophomore year, it kind of felt more like a freshman year because you know, you’re just getting used to the building. [During my] Link Crew Orientation, we had a tour, but it was an online slideshow of different parts of the school. So, I would always get lost sophomore year, and honestly, I still kind of get lost, but that’s more of a me problem. How was your sophomore year?

Lajkem: My sophomore year? To be honest, I didn’t think that I was staying for sophomore year. I thought that I was going to go back to Michigan, or at least to another school. But yeah, I didn’t think I was staying at Parkway at all, so I wasn’t even focused on trying to make friends or be involved. I was just trying to get my schoolwork done and then go home. But then when I came back for junior year, which really more felt like sophomore year to me, I started trying to actually make friends and get involved more.

Liu: And then junior year we were already taking ACTs and doing some early college prep and all our standardized testing. And now, we’re seniors.

Lajkem: And [the] third day of school, we have a Code Yellow.

Liu: And then the gas leak the next week.

Lajkem: That was crazy.

Liu: But honestly, it’s kind of fitting. We had a wild start to our high school careers, so of course our senior year has to start off with a metaphorical bang.

Lajkem: I was really excited for my senior year actually because I had a lot of easy classes this year, compared to sophomore and junior year. Not so much freshman year, freshman year was easier. I could focus more on job applications and college applications and not so much on the school aspect of my life. Even though the seniors lost the Powderpuff game. I still really enjoyed going to the Powderpuff game into the dance and everything. So, what was your favorite part of spirit week?

Liu: I really love dressing up because I feel like at our school, everyone participates in all the spirit days. And the energy is so fun. And I love the football games. I think with all the people and the Longhorn rumble screaming—it’s just so fun.

Lajkem: The atmosphere is so nice. So nice. 

Liu: So, while our high school years started off a bit interesting, I think this year is going to be pretty fun as long as we make the best of it. 

Lajkem: Definitely. Thank you for listening to “Senioritis.”

Liu: Next episode we’ll be discussing extracurricular activities and clubs with seniors who are running them.

Lajkem: If you’d like to be on “Senioritis” in a future episode, please comment below.

Music Credit: Love Yourself (Manoj Radhakrisha feat. Ksenia)