Our Future Mustangs!
April 2, 2019
It’s the 10 year anniversary of our school and YLHS students are having the opportunity to experience the jubilation of this celebratory milestone. We have been given the opportunity to appreciate how much our school has grown and how incredible YLHS has become.
Yet beyond looking purely at the present and our progress since the past, its important to consider the future of school and student body. As YLHS continues to improve and grow, current students feel obligated to make their predecessors get the most out of their YLHS experience. To do so, a number of students shared important advice that students 10 years from now can learn from. Their tips ranged from daily reminders like Corinne Green’s (11), “Get off your phone and study,” to Payton Armbruster’s (11), “Get involved in extracurriculars and take classes that challenge you.” Other students had advice that can transcend high school, and be applicable throughout life. For example, Jacob Viveros (11) shared his mantra to, “Push yourself, but don’t break yourself.”
Students are imparting their advice to the future mustangs, ensuring they also have a successful experience at YL. But who exactly is the next generation of YLHS students?
To get to know the future faces of YL, I interviewed a class of 3rd grade students who’ll be attending YLHS 10 years from now. After speaking with them, it was immediately clear that YLHS will be gaining a great batch of bright and outstanding students.
I asked them a variety of questions pertaining to their future ambitions and everything in high school that they are excited for. Hearing their responses about their dreams for the future and their pure, unadulterated optimism was incredibly endearing. It was refreshing to see such hopefulness and excitement for the future.
I asked the students, of Mrs. Delaney’s 3rd grade class, three questions. Their aspirations and responses each varied, but they all shared in the same innocent optimism. For these 3rd graders, the sky is the limit in terms of their futures. Each of these students have high hopes and every one of them looks towards high school with excitement and anticipation. In addition, they each had the most charming comments that they would want to tell their future selves in 10 years. The students answered each of the following questions.
A. What are you most excited for in high school?
B. What do you want to be when you grow up?
C. What do you want to say to your future self in 10 years?
As I read each response, I began to consider my own feelings about the future in comparison to the anticipation of these optimistic 3rd graders. As high school students, we’re often times scrambling to improve our grades, excel in our sports, perfect our crafts. We work tirelessly as we try to add another accomplishment or award to our resume or college application. During this time in our lives, we put in an exorbitant amount of time and energy in hopes of defining who we are and establishing our futures. When asked where we see ourselves in ten years, I feel that many of us are often times filled with fear and apprehension. It’s terrifying to consider who we’ll be 10 years from now and the uncertainty these next few years will bring.
While I think that we, as high school students, have a lot of advice to impart on these youths, I feel that we can also learn a few things from these 3rd graders. They look towards the future with confidence and they maintain big dreams. They remind us of ourselves as 3rd graders and we revisit the hopefulness and self-assurance that we too, once possessed.
Getting to know the next generation of YLHS students brings on a wave of nostalgia but also excitement for how much they’re going to bring to YL. Its reassuring to know that the future of YLHS lies in good hands. We admire these student’s optimism and we encourage them to continue dreaming big. These future mustangs will surely be a great addition to the YLHS family.