The quintessential high school experience revolves around the rigorous courses you dwell over all night, the various clubs and sports you participate in, and the friends you make along this riveting journey. Four years is a long time… And for Bronx Science’s Class of 2024, this high school experience has now come to an end.
For Bronx Science seniors, the past four years have been an accumulation of hard work, friendships, and personal growth. In developing relationships with other students and teachers, everyone has built up their own persona and legacy at this school. Now, they prepared to leave it all behind following a three hour graduation ceremony on June 26th, 2o24. So how does one truly prepare for the goodbyes they have to make to the people who have been by their side for the past years?
Student Organization President and Senior Umme Anushka ’24 finds herself wrapped up in a wave of goodbyes as she bids farewell to her fellow students on the government team, the school administration she works with year-round, and her friends. Next year, Anushka will be attending Harvard University nestled in the heart of Cambridge, Massachusetts, a five hour commute from Bronx Science, and her team will be left behind without her. “It’s really hard. I’ve been preparing for the separation from my friends since college results came out, but I didn’t even think about the underclassmen in Student Government with me until recently,” said Anushka.
Recently, the Cabinet Student Organization elections took place, ending with her successor, Jadyn Sinclair ‘25, taking her place as president for the upcoming 2024-2025 academic year. Leaving her spot as president gave Anushka a sudden look into the perhaps frightening reality of senior year, the time when all that is familiar slips away.
“Umme and I entered Cabinet together during the start of her junior year and we’ve been together since then. I have no idea how I’m going to do this without her next year,” said Sinclair. For her, and for the rest of the members on Cabinet, they’re not only losing their friend, but also their role model, classmate, and leader.
Recently, the team threw their last events of the year: The Spring Carnival and Culture Day, both events that Anushka worked on with her peers. Culture Day concluded with tearful goodbyes as she realized it would be her last time directing a Bronx Science event. Though graduation was her farewell to Bronx Science, Culture Day was her final chapter of Student Government.
Right next to the S.O Cabinet room, the COSA office, sits the senior lounge section of the Bronx Science cafeteria, another place that was overtaken with floods of sad goodbyes. Rayna Zhang ’24 dealt with double goodbyes to her best friend, Sarah Cheng ’24, and her boyfriend, Alex Chen ’24. Zhang will be attending Boston University in the fall while her best friend, Sarah Cheng, will be in Rhode Island, attending Brown University. Alex Chen will be driving in the opposite direction as he moves to the city of Ithaca to attend Cornell University.
For Zhang , she not only needs to navigate her feelings on separating from her long-time friend, but also figure out how her relationship will function when they’re hours apart.
“Every time that I think about it, I want to cry. But, I know Sarah and I will stay in touch through the phone as we did when we were separated for three years in middle school. And Alex and I have already talked about a long distance relationship, since the moment we got into our Early Decision schools.”
When I asked Chen about his feelings, he said, “I’m honestly glad we had so many talks about it because it helped us prepare for the upcoming summer.”
Like Rayna and Alex, many of the couples in the school have been bracing themselves for long-distance relationships the moment they applied to colleges. I interviewed another Bronx Science senior, Jeremy Lee ’24, on his current relationship with a junior who is staying behind at Bronx Science. I asked him how he was planning on saying goodbye.
“Well, I don’t think of it as a goodbye. The key is to prepare for separation, but be hopeful for the future. Earlier in the year, we had countless conversations about when we’re going to be separated, but it’s May now. We chose to just live in the present and enjoy these next few months,” said Lee.
Lee and his girlfriend have been making the most of their remaining time, spending every weekend together, whether it’s going out to different places in New York or going to each other’s houses to meet their families. Since he’s leaving New York behind to go to Illinois for Northwestern University, he’s been combining his family and girlfriend hangouts to maximize time with both of his most important relationships.
“Recently, I took my girlfriend and her little sister to the Botanical Garden, and it was honestly a memory I’m going to have forever,” Lee said.
Though his ride to the airport in August 2024 will inevitably be sad, it’s undeniable that the few months leading up to it will have been some of the best of his high school years. A lot of the other seniors have chosen to forget about their future goodbyes for the time being and live in the present moment, just like Lee said.
“I want to do spontaneous things now and live on the edge, as much as a typical student in high school could, anyway,” said Stanley Wong ’24.
With this mindset, Wong set up a last minute promposal to his close friend Chrystal Mallouras ‘24, checking off a high school goal that he has had since his ninth grade year. The promposal was completed without any strings attached, just as a fun way to bring his friends all together.
“I love Disney movies and always wanted to do something like this in homage to them. Now, I get to go to prom with one of my best friends, which is something I’ve always wanted to do,” Wong said.
Even though he’ll be apart from her for months after prom, the pictures they take, the conversations they have, and the music they dance to, are things that will live in his mind forever. He plans on making many more happy memories while he still can, to ensure that he can reminisce on his high school senior year with a smile on his face.
“I feel like everyone, really, is coming together this last month of school. For example, I started talking to kids in my math class that I have never met before. I know more names now than I did in high school!” Mallouras said.
And it’s true! Within these last few weeks, all the friend groups and cliques in the senior class have merged to form one, united community. Everyone has been talking to each other, signing each other’s senior t-shirts and yearbooks, and inviting each other to different events. Close friends or not, it seems as though all the relationships in this school are blossoming at a great speed.
Overall, it’s evident that all the Class of 2024 seniors are preparing themselves for their big departure in a range of different ways. Whether it’s through confronting the tough conversations with their soon to be long-distance friends and significant others, or making the most out of the present moment and disregarding the seemingly endless worries of the future, seniors made their way to June 26th, 2024, the last official day of high school, one day at a time.
He plans on making many more happy memories while he still can, to ensure that he can reminisce on his high school senior year with a smile on his face.