A Bittersweet Goodbye

In the fall of 2015, no freshman could have guessed how the next four years would unfold. Most students were fourteen years old, wore braces, and were intimidated by the class of 2016. Throughout the years, those same students have become part of the school government, captains of sports teams, and mentors for underclassmen. Trends like the iPhone X, Juuls, and Birkenstocks have played a major role in shaping the future for the class of 2019. Now, almost four years later, seniors look back on their years at Lafayette.

“When I was a freshman I definitely knew I was going to run track all four years,” said Taymar Gorelick, a Lafayette senior. Next year, Lafayette will be losing one of its best runners to the University of Mary Washington. “I underestimated myself and didn’t think I was good enough at track to continue it into college, but here I am. On the other hand, I overestimated all the friendships I had four years ago. I thought I’d stay in the same friend group that I had in middle school but I’ve made a lot of new friends,” said Taymar with a grin. She paused to remember some of her favorite memories from the past few years. “I’ll definitely miss football games because my college doesn’t have a football team. I’ll also miss spirit week and the dances a lot because that’s everybody’s favorite. I liked getting to know all the new people on the track team, especially my freshman year, because our team was at its best and the seniors were so inspirational for me,” reminisced Taymar. When asked about the future, she said, “I’m excited to be with my new team, meet all new people, and be in a new environment. I love the school that I chose and I’m so ready to start new.”

Another Lafayette senior, Timmy Crump, shares his perspective on the last four years. “I thought high school was going to be really difficult, but it actually wasn’t hard at all once I studied, did my work, and took advantage of all the opportunities I could to do extra credit in my classes. I took responsibility for my actions so it was easier to set goals for myself and get A’s and B’s,” said Timmy. When asked about his favorite time at Lafayette, Timmy said, “Playing football and other sports was really fun and an overall great experience”.

Ethan Quick, a prospective student at Radford University, remembers some of his greatest moments as a Ram. “Goofing off in class, sporting events, and the camaraderie with teammates are all highlights of high school. Honestly the last four years were a lot less stressful than I thought they would be,” said Ethan. As he looks forward into the future, he’s excited to, “go back to life guarding in the summer and heading off to college”.

Another senior, Alec Anderson, plans to attend George Mason University in the fall. Alec switched schools as a junior when he moved from Northern Virginia to Williamsburg. “My old school was super diverse, which was great, and very focused on academics. I like that Lafayette understands that academics isn’t everything. Switching halfway through the year wasn’t too bad. It helps that everyone at Lafayette has school pride and the community is pretty preppy, which I love,” said Alec with a smile. “I’m an outgoing person so I found people that I get along with pretty easily and both schools have shaped me in different ways”.

These past four years have been filled with broken and reunited friendships, the end of relationships that everyone thought would last, and many more memories that will go down in history. Now that most of the class of 2019 drive and many more are adults, it is time that seniors graduate and move on to whatever the future brings.