Tates Blog

Wow, I cannot believe it is almost over. 6 more days and I will never walk through these halls again. I will never have to wake up at 5:50 in the morning to go and experience another run walk day in early bird games P.E. That is something I truly will not miss but there are many things I will. The laughs with friends, the bonds with teachers, and even talking with the lunch ladies. Those are the things I will miss.

When I walked through these halls for the first time 4 years ago I didn’t know what to think. I was not really focused on the end goal which is to graduate. I kind of just lived in the moment every day of High school. I would encourage every student to experience high school that way because it makes you live in the moment and enjoy your experiences way more.

It is very bittersweet though, although it sucks that I will be moving on and and I will not be seeing a lot of my fellow classmates as frequently or maybe even at all after graduation I kind of enjoy the idea of stepping into the real world. I feel like in high school we are so trapped in the things we can do. I look forward to going to college, getting a job, and maybe one day starting a family. That right now is all kind of scary to think about but 4 years ago I was walking across the stage at graduation but look at me now.

Overall, this year flew by like no other. My first blog post seems like ages ago, I wrote about football season just starting and things of that nature. Which is crazy because to me it feels like football season was just a month ago. I truly will miss high school and all the experiences that come with it.

Today is Friday, February 7, 2025. I wrote to you about a month or so ago. One thing that Is still occurring is that the weather is still as cold as ever. Growing up in Illinois truly lets you understand how bipolar our weather is. Just the other day it was nearly 70, the next day it was back down to 30. The good thing about those warmer weather days is that it means spring is right around the corner. With that being said schoolwork is finally speeding up and we are getting into the swing of things like before winter break. Before I know It I will be walking across that stage. Graduation is so crazy to think about!

The last semester is something I was looking forward to as a senior but now that it is here Im not sure if it was worth all the hype. Sure, we are about to get out of high school but that also means leaving a lot of friends. Whether the route after graduation is college or work we are not going to have as many hangouts. We will not be able to experience sitting in the student section. Even though we all see advisory as a terrible thing I will honestly miss the Fridays in the gym where we would do fun activities. It is definitely a sad thing to think about but a new journey will begin which can be exciting.

The last thing I want to talk about is senioritis. Many underclassman or even myself just a few short months ago do not believe in this sort of thing. I would tell myself how bad could it get I have already been doing this thing for most of my life why would it get so hard in the final few months? All while I don’t know the true answer to that question I know I can say it has hit me. It has only been getting worse as the days go on. Most days it is easy to wake up and go through the school day but then there are other days where I wake up to the grueling alarm at 6 Am and tell myself there’s no way I am doing this. So as you can maybe tell I am torn between if I am truly ready to leave high school or if I want to hold on a little longer.

Well, here I am sitting in English class writing to you. The last time I was doing this it was about 30 degrees warmer and there was definitely no snow on the ground. We got out for winter break almost a month ago which is crazy to even think about. I had a great time on break but now it seems like it did not last long enough because we are back to the normal school schedule.

The one thing that blows my mind as I’m writing this is that I will never have another winter break as a high school student. I don’t know if that makes me happy or sad just yet. With that being said though it was definitely one to remember. I worked a little bit for my uncle when he asked me to help. That work is pretty simple I would usually work from 10-6 just delivering furniture for him. I also went down to Collinsville to watch the boys basketball team play. I would say that they performed at a lower level than they usually do. This was probably due to their lack of sleep. Let’s all be honest for a second when you put a bunch of teenage boys in a hotel together they are all bound to get little to no sleep. Little to no sleep is also what I got on New Years. I had friends over and we watched football, played games, and had a fun time enjoying what we had left of 2024.

Enough about spring break though because I don’t want to sit here and reminisce about it to much or I will start dreading coming back to school even more. We started coming back to school this week and let me tell you my sleep schedule did not agree with the time I needed to wake up on Tuesday. Going to bed at 2-3 Am and waking up around 10-11 Am is a whole night different than 11-6 it just feels so terrible getting up that early. Other than that though us seniors really only have to make it to spring break and then we are done with school. I can’t tell you whether I’m happy or sad about that but one thing I can say is definitely cherish the memories with friends, family, and even teachers while you can.

Since the last time I wrote I was still in football season. Around that time I was hoping that we could make the playoffs in back to back years but it didn’t turn it out in my favor. The team was 4-2 heading into week 7 and lost 3 straight. An unfortunate turn out but I’m sure we can all say we tried our very hardest. With that being said football is over and there is a lot of free time on my hands. My typical day in the last half of the first semester looks a lot different than it did in the first. If you are interested in hearing what I do in a day as a Senior with a lot of free time I suggest you stay reading!

As a Senior at LCHS we all know that you can take early bird so that you can get out earlier in the day. This requires me to wake up around 6 am to get ready for my day. In my opinion I like waking up early because I feel more productive and it makes my days more valuable through my eyes. After I get ready for school I leave around 6:30. The school day starts at 7:06 and ends at 2:18. Nothing has changed from the start of the school year to now besides the school days are starting to seem more pointless. The senioritis is really starting to kick in and being here some days seems not worth it. After school I used to get home at 6:30 because of practice. But now I get home around 2:45 which is good and bad. I like the extra time I have but sometimes its too much and I catch myself being very lazy sometimes. I try and still be active by working out so that the laziness feeling slips my mind sometimes. After that I play video games, relax, and then eventually just go to sleep and wake up and do the same thing over again.

All in all I would say the biggest habit I have as a Senior is asking myself the same question almost every school day. Is this really worth my time? Now that I am a Senior I have grown up a bit and realize that some things I learn in school are never going to help me a few months down the road so why am I learning it? This is the hardest part about Senior year because you feel like you have done all the learning you need for the most part and just want to get out of these walls that you have been trapped in for the last 4 years. Other than that though there’s nothing to worry about when looking towards Senior year it is mostly smooth sailing.

It has been about a month since I last wrote. Not many things have really happened yet. The football team is off to a good start and are still succeeding. We are 4-2 and only need 1 more win to get inside the playoffs. Other than football schoolwork is getting a little harder and it is definitely ramping up. But with that being said it makes the weekends more enjoyable because you look forward to them more. If you enjoy football and good stories I suggest you keep reading.

So first, lets talk about the football season. When I last wrote we started off 2-0 with wins over Lanphier and Southeast. After our 2-0 start though we hit a rough patch playing the defending state champions the Rochester Rockets, that game was not in our favor. Then we traveled to Bloomington where we played U-High, which was also not in our favor. I believe after that though we took a step back and realized what we needed to do so we could get better as a team. After that game against U-High we have won 2 straight against Decatur Eisenhower and Decatur Macarthur. All in all I hope we can get that 5th win or more than 5 so we can go back to he playoffs and experience that surreal feeling once again.

Moving on though, if you aren’t interested in football or just can’t relate to those stories I am now gonna talk about schoolwork. Not just schoolwork more like senior year experiences with school. Last time I spoke with you the work in school was laid back not to many tests being handed out. But now it seems like I have a test every single week if not multiple. If you do not like taking tests I suggest you drop out before senior year… I am just joking, but the long week of hard work does make for some good weekends. In the fall there is College football on Saturdays and NFL football on Sundays which makes for a good time when I can watch with my friends over the weekend. It is not only about football though just feeling the weight of school lift off my shoulders and I know I can relax for at least 48 hours. Just like riding a bike or playing a sport, once you get into the swing of things senior year is truly not that hard.

I don’t know about you, but Senior Year arrived faster than I imagined it would. As I first started at LCHS freshman year I never looked forward to senior year, I wanted to prolong it as long as I could.

Senior Year is officially underway and we are about 4 weeks in. I have mixed feelings about Senior Year so far. Some of my classes are really fun, but others are super difficult. Which is not what everyone told me Senior Year was going to be like when I was younger. I was told it was filled with an easy going schedule and you can take it super light. All in all it is truly not that bad, me signing up for the college classes I should have not been expecting an easy year. The one thing that does get me through these long days at school is football. Being a senior football player takes a lot of dedication and hard-work. There are responsibilities that you do not even think about until you get to this point. Which makes senior year a little more difficult, but it is the most fun sport on the planet.

About 4 weeks ago I walked into this school knowing it was gonna be my last first day ever here. That thought is still weighing on me to this day. It is not easy figuring out what you want to do after school is over when all you have known your whole life is school. Everyone figures it out eventually though. Other than that school for now is pretty smooth sailing. I have had quite a few tests already but I am expecting that all year.

Along with schoolwork also comes football. A lot of people believe that the football season starts right when school does, but they would be wrong. When school ends the previous year is when it really begins. We prepare all summer to be the best we can be. We have started off 2-0 this year. Which is ironic because all 4 years I have been here the football team has started off 2-0 to start the year. Football season is the best time of year, and I hope you feel the same way.

Overall the start to Senior Year has been a pretty good one. One that most people expect the start of Senior Year to be. Always remember to go after your goals and aspirations all it takes is some hard work and dedication!