Editor’s note: The Reporter staff requested that the principals of each of the high schools in our coverage area select two seniors to answer this question: What is the purpose of high school? Six students provided us with six very different answers. Here are the graduates’ answers from Kentlake High.

By Zac Cowan

Is high school your final years of public education or is it something more? To me, high school is much more than the last years in public schools, high school is a bridge, connecting youth and adulthood.

When you begin as a freshman, you are thrown into an ocean and it is up to you to keep yourself afloat. No teacher is going to throw you a life preserver. It is up to you to do the work and pass the class. Once you adapt to this new routine, the fun part begins. A large part of crossing that high school “bridge” is discovering yourself and forming your identity. I found my identity playing sports but many others found theirs in drama, academics, clubs or other activities.

Whatever you choose to do, you branched out and tried new things.

Now my identity didn’t form overnight and neither did anyone else. But by the time senior year came around, I knew who I was. Identity is important to develop but it isn’t the only attribute to ascertain; maturation is almost as important.

It is important for high school students to learn a sense of responsibility to bring to the new world we are about to enter. High school is about growing up to face the new challenges that await us as we graduate. All of the homework, tests, projects, and classes we completed in high school all take a back seat to the lessons we learn in high school, creating a bridge between youth and adulthood.

Zac Cowan is a member of Kentlake High’s class of 2012.

Beatrice Wambui

When I hear the word high school the first thing that pops into my head is tests…lots and lots of tests!

Some people may think of parties and the over all experience and others of getting out. But high school isn’t about the tests or the parties or how long it drags on, I believe it is about finding out what you are best at and striving to do it to best capability; finding your place in the world. In my high school experience

I have learned a lot about myself. I have discovered that I love art and I use it to set myself aside from everyone else.

It is the one thing that I am best at because I can express my emotions and feelings in an art piece and there is no right or wrong answer. That is exactly what high school is for! It is the opportunity to try out different classes, hang out with different people and find out who exactly you are.

Like, what makes you happy, what makes you upset, and what are you willing to do about it.

All of these questions have been answered in my high school career. There have been multiple events that have made me think.

Not just think why this happening is, or how can I fix it, but actually think of how it affects people.

How it affects me and who will benefit the most at the end of this situation. And this is very valuable in the real world.

When a problem erupts and a definite solution is dire, the only way to handle it appropriately and efficiently is with experience.

Like how a cop has to go through training before being out in the streets, he/she needs to understand how to cope and deal with emotions and how to fix it.

Overall high school is a journey worth taking. I personally couldn’t have asked for a better 4 years of my life. It has been a struggle but I have learned to accept my incapability and use them to highlight my skills and talents. I have learned leadership skills and speaking skills. Everyone has that one thing they are good at, and high school helps us find it!

It can be in music playing an instrument, or singing. It could also be in theater through acting and dancing. But it doesn’t have to be artistic; it could also be in journalism or even debate! Once you find the one thing you love and are good at you will want to do it for the rest of your life.  This also helps figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life, whether career wise or even family wise. All of this is shaped and created in high school!.

One quote I like to summarize my high school years is, “you only live once, but if you do it right once is enough.”

Beatrice Wambui is a member of Kentlake High’s class of 2012.