Dave Carver
There’s something magical about senior year in high school. It’s the culmination of 12 years of growing up, a time when you’re poised between childhood and adulthood, teetering on the edge of the rest of your life. For those of us who came up in the 1980s and ’90s, the senior year was its own world of anticipation, excitement, and uncertainty. And while today’s seniors face a different landscape, that pivotal year remains as significant as ever.
Back in the day, senior year had a certain rhythm to it. In the ’80s, it was all about letter jackets, cassette mixtapes, and hanging out at the local drive-in. By the ’90s, we had traded in our cassettes for CDs, and Blockbuster had become the Friday night hangout. No matter the decade, senior year was filled with shared moments that we thought would last forever.
The big events were rites of passage that tied us together: homecoming, prom, and, of course, graduation. Prom meant dressing up in your best, maybe borrowing a family car to make a grand entrance, and hoping you didn’t spill anything on your rented tuxedo or gown. Graduation was the moment we all stood side-by-side in caps and gowns, trying to process that this chapter of life was coming to a close. For us, the ‘80s and ‘90s seniors, there was an air of innocence to it all. Sure, we worried about what came next, but there was also a feeling that things would work out. We’d go to college, start jobs, or maybe travel, but there was a general sense of optimism about the future.
Today’s seniors have a different kind of senior year. With technology at their fingertips, the world feels both bigger and smaller. Social media connects them to classmates, but it also adds a layer of pressure that we never had to face. Instead of worrying about showing up to school with the right brand of jeans, today’s kids are juggling the expectations of curating a life online for all to see. We didn’t have to deal with that back then. We could mess up without the whole world watching.
And yet, despite all the changes, the heart of senior year remains the same. There’s still that sense of “lasts”—the last homecoming game, the last time walking those halls as a student, the last few months of being a kid before the real world calls. Seniors today still feel the weight of goodbyes, even if those goodbyes are often given over texts or Instagram posts. They’re still looking ahead to a future filled with possibility, even if the road ahead seems more complicated than it used to be.
One of the biggest differences between then and now is the sheer pace of life. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, things moved a bit slower. You found out about college acceptances by mail, and if you missed a phone call from a friend, well, you caught up at school the next day. Now, everything happens instantly. College acceptance letters are emailed, decisions about life after high school feel like they need to be made at breakneck speed, and seniors are often expected to have a five-year plan long before they walk across that graduation stage.
But no matter the decade, the senior year is always a time of reflection, of looking back on friendships and memories made, and wondering where life will take you next. Whether it’s the thrill of a Friday night football game in 1985 or sending a TikTok from the bleachers in 2024, there’s something universal about the feeling of being on the verge of something new.
So, to all the seniors out there—whether you’re rocking a mullet in 1987 or scrolling through Instagram in 2024—cherish these moments. The senior year only happens once, and while life will take you in directions you can’t yet imagine, the bonds you form and the memories you make will stick with you. We might live in different times, but the emotions of this year, that bittersweet mix of excitement and fear, remain timeless.
Looking back now, I think the senior year is the best reminder that no matter how much the world changes, some things, like the importance of friendships, shared experiences, and the journey into adulthood, will never go out of style.
Greenfield resident Dave Carver is the HR director at BLC Outdoor Services and has volunteered with many local organizations. He is currently the chairman of the board for A Better Life Brianna’s Hope.
