Before wrapping presents for Christmas, MV will wrap up its first semester of the 2019-2020 school year. As students prepare to enter a new semester, and a new decade, they reflect upon the one that is concluding.

“First semester was good and I think it’s been my best semesters yet,” said Danielle Payne, ‘22. 

“First semester was pretty good. It kinda kicked my butt a little bit but I had a lot of fun,” expressed Olivia Heiznman, ‘20. 

“[This semester] was very, very stressful. I’m surprised I even made it through to be honest,” stated Katie Brown, ‘21. 

“I thought first semester was okay. It was kind of stressful but it was a nice start to the school year,” said Ashtyn Cook, ‘21.

“I had a blast first semester! I wish it couldn’t end so soon,” expressed Hunter Shirley, ‘21.

Each student has favorite parts of the semester that they will remember fondly.

“I would definitely say diving more into photography than I had in the past. I think I learned a lot and took some decent pictures. My other favorite part was definitely theater. Words can’t describe how much it has changed my life. I’ve become more outspoken, confident and have made so many friends,” expressed Becky Fisher, ‘22.

“The best aspect of first semester was homecoming week and the dress up days that came with it,” said Heinzman.

“[My favorite part of first semester was] meeting new people and making new friends,” said Emily Elliot, ‘23.

Along with the good times, however, comes the challenging aspects of school.

“The most challenging part was probably balancing all of my responsibilities. Even now I’m a little bit behind on work but I’m gonna catch up. It’s definitely taught me that I need to be on top of my game come junior year,” said Fisher.

“I think the most challenging part was trying to keep my grades up while doing my after school activities, maintaining a job, and still trying to get more than 4 hours of sleep a night,” stated Cook. 

“[The most challenging part was] all of the homework and tests, along with working about 20 hours a week,” said Brown.

“[The hardest part was] map testing,” stated Payne.

Despite the difficulties, there are various things students will miss after leaving this semester behind.

“[I will miss] teachers that I will lose and friends that don’t have classes with in second semester,” said Shirley.

“Most of my classes changed, so [I’ll miss] the friends that I had in those classes and just telling tea with them,” said Brown.

“I think I’ll miss the way my schedule was set up. My classes were pretty great and I know a lot of people’s schedules change,” said Cook. 

“[I will miss] Friday night lights,” stated Heinzman. 

Although students will miss many aspects of their first semester, they are excited to take on second semester after returning from winter break. 

“You could say I’m excited [for second semester]. I like second semester better than the first most of the time. Second semester is fun and it’s got all of the end of the year fun,” said Cook.

“I am definitely excited for the second semester because of operetta. I already know that it’s gonna be a blast and I can’t wait to see how the show turns out,” said Fisher.

“Yes [I am excited], because I get to graduate!” exclaimed Heinzman.