Savanna Byles

6 a.m.: Loud alarms wake students throughout Miami who are starting their day off with a dreaded roll out of bed and stumble into the bathroom. Come 7:20 a.m., students rush through the school gates after falling asleep in the car, again. 9:20 a.m., crawl to class using your textbook as a personal bodyguard. 2:18 p.m., get as close to the classroom door as you can, and pray your teacher lets you out just a couple seconds early. 2:20 p.m., race to the parking lot to avoid the 10-minute exit line to prepare for whatever the day may bring: endless hours of homework, sports, work or clubs.

To our fellow Juniors,

It has been a rough year, but we know you will survive.

Aug. 17, 2023, walking into school, rocking our homemade junior J’s not knowing what was ahead of us: our third prowl loss, but our first car-parade win and the shock of choosing our senior year classes following the dreaded talk with our CAP Counselor Linda Dwyer.

After our third year of losing prowl, our class never lost their school spirit. Whether that is seeing neon orange throughout the school halls, or our class board riding in on a neon orange jeep.

Aside from the inner competition within our grade, or the constant reminder that there is a countdown to our senior year, we can all agree on one thing: junior year is difficult.

With stressful days comes the fun of seeing your friends every morning in the parking lot, having class activities in the courtyard and sitting in entertaining class cabinet meetings.

As we grow into becoming upperclassmen, we grow out of our early teenage years and learn who we truly are. Knowing who you are is not just a paragraph in your college essay, but something that will shape you as you enter adulthood. After spending so much time together for the past three years, we now wish we still had the fear of freshman year, rather than fighting senioritis as a junior. As we used to countdown the months to earn our red, now as the days tick, we panic at the thought of wearing red and trading our junior J’s for a senior crown.

Preparing for your SAT, sifting through the endless college emails or organizing your college lists — it can feel like every decision you make today will impact the rest of your life. But, a quick trip to Dwyer’s desk might help soothe your troubles.

When we realize that the CommonApp opens in less than just five months, the question of what the most important essay of our life — yes, even more important than the rhetorical analysis — will be about, takes over our minds.

Getting over the hump day slump is harder than “swimming” through the parking lot on a rainy day. That second A or B day really hits you as your to-do list continues to grow, spilling into your “relaxing weekend” that got rescheduled after August 17. No matter how much “locking in” we do on Sundays, we wonder: Will we ever get that calming Sunday reset?

Although some days we might have to fight the urge to even get out of our cars, staying in school until after lunch is actually beneficial. So delete that text to your mom, and sit tight for just about two more hours. What were you planning on doing anyway? Studying at home?

Pushing through the week makes it worth it to hear the words, “Happy Friday.” Junior’s Fridays typically consist of beating the Chipotle line while your friend holds your spot in the Starbucks line, late night Raising Canes or Sushi Sake runs and maybe even a sweet treat at Whip-n-Dip if it is close to payday.

The one thing agreed is that through the ups and downs of junior year, we always know the class of 2025 is sticking together.