Senior Send Off - Class of ‘22

Suhani Muhajan, Dhruv Singh, Caleb Smith, Grace Yang

Members of Northview's 2022 graduating class reflect on their experience in high school and their plans going forward. Point of View's seniors, Caleb, Dhruv, and Suhani, discuss their time in the class. Listen on Spotify or Apple Music.

Sahit: My name is Sahit and I'm a senior at Northview High School.

Sasha: Hi, my name is Sasha.

Soham: Yeah, hello, my name is Soham. I'm a senior here at Northview I'm the captain of the varsity soccer team.

Elizabeth: Hello, my name is Elizabeth Ziabchenko. And I'm a student at Northview High School.

Alana: Yes, hello, I'm Alana McLaughlin, and I'm a senior.

Sivan: Hi, I'm Sivan. I'm a senior at Northview High School, and I'll be graduating this year.

Caleb: And this was high school for Northview's class of 2022. We've learned we've grown, we've made countless memories that we'll keep forever.

Sahit: Most of my favorite memories are actually oriented with my friends and things we do together, we went to the Chattahoochee River, the plan was to just you know, look at a river and just play around in the park and so forth. But we he and I actually ended up going into the river. And we were not, we were not smart about it because the current was extremely strong, and we had no idea what to do. And we realized this halfway in, and like we barely made it out alive and kind of thing and like we were both shivering and hypothermic, it was just really crazy and scary. But now that I look back on it, it feels more like like a storybook adventure. And those memories that I'm really happy about.

Sasha: I got to step in for the role of Carrie for one day, and learn it in like two seconds. So that's definitely going to be a core memory for me. It was a lot of fun.

Sivan: Um, my favorite memory was actually pretty recent, it was during the Stone Mountain trip. So after the mountain, we everyone went to the barbecue and everyone ate and things like that. And everyone decided to go play volleyball. And for some reason, everyone decided to go play volleyball at this one singular net. And what I thought was so memorable about that experience was that like, kids from so many different like cliques or groups, kids from like different backgrounds, because who had different interests all came together and support each other while we played volleyball. And you could see like the excitement and joy in everyone's eyes when they went to when they hit the ball over the net. And people are high-fiving and people who never even spoke to each other before we're on the same team. And they were like just enjoying each other's company.

Elizabeth: Some of my favorite memories is like performing at an international night, particularly my senior year when I was in 2x. And the cullmination of my high school tennis, which was winning regions this year.

Alana: One of my favorite memories was probably I think it was the homecoming football game where it was blackout of this year. It was just great because all the different friend groups and our grade were there. And it was really like a sense of community and everybody was together. And I don't think you get that every football game. And it was just nice. And we missed so many things because of COVID. It was really nice to just be together and like kind of experience that.

Soham: I would say my favorite memory from the last four years is probably this past this past season with my team with the Northview our soccer team, we exceeded expectations tremendously. We were runner ups in our region, and we made it to the Round 16 second round of playoffs. And just that the whole season these past few months have been some of like the best ones in my life. This is a tremendous success we had in like the amount of fun I had to with with all my with all my teammates. And so it was just it was it was amazing was a great experience. Suhani: Whether we were online or in person, we've pushed ourselves to our limits, bonding over shared procrastination and late night studying.

Sivan: What I think I'll miss the most about my high school experience is the suffering everyone went through together. So in my eyes, while the classes were very hard and they took a lot of work, the nights that you spend with your friends on like FaceTime or discord like grinding out assignments or study guides and things like that. While they were hard. I think it was kind of enjoyable at the same time because um, it was like a group collectively suffering together.

Alana: I have loved yearbook. It's a lot of work but nothing beats like that community in that class and the ability we have to have so much fun together, but it's also something that's my passion.

Elizabeth: My favorite classes, were definitely my lit classes my ninth grade with Coronavirus, Yashi 11th grade with Miss Pope and 12th grade with AP Lit and Rawlins class. Honorable mention to honors Chem surprisingly because I definitely think that the shared torture of honors Chem brings people together. And I made some of my best friends are in my honors chem class where we did a bunch of labs and just talk through our assignments together. And cram studied for classes during lunch.

Sahit: AP Lang for sure by Mrs. Pope, even though it was online, which wasn't the best aspect of it. It was extremely entertaining and educational. It kind of helped me realize the importance of language which is something I didn't realize the first two years and it helped me really hone in on my voice. Identify with what I truly believe in and find a way to express that and justify it and like, you know, persuade people and like, take my stance. So it gave me a lot of confidence.

Sasha: Okay this is a class that I took freshman year. But it's definitely one of my favorites. It was 10th honors lit. And I had Ms Pope. We had this one unit where we were reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. And my friend Aayush and I, we liked the book so much that we started making a Broadway musical out of it. And we like wrote songs and cast people and everything. So I loved that class so much, I had so much fun.

Dhruv: Outside the classroom, we grew as people tried new things, we planted the seeds of future hobbies we take with us now.

Sivan: Growing up, I was like very, very unathletic. And something about wrestling and like something about like watching yourself grow, was like very fun for me. Because it was like, knowing that you didn't come from like a background where you were just knew you were gonna do sports, and doing wrestling and like winning matches and succeeding. Something about that was just very fun for me.

Sasha: I think I'm proud of how involved I got in everything that I did, I got some leadership positions. And I feel like that really helped me this year, like really get more involved with what I was doing and get that experience. Be president of a club. Just be in the club in the first place. I've been part of improv clubs since freshman year. So all four years, being involved in chorus being really involved in theater. I just this year gotten involved with the Northview bolt, which was like so much fun. Just getting involved with as much as I could, I feel like I'm proud of that.

Sahit: Especially with Psi Alpha, which is the psychology Art Society. And whether it's through guest speaker events, or like the various fundraisers, awareness campaigns, anything we've done, the ability to impact the greater Northview community and make a significant impact on it. And also leave a legacy of the club behind as a graduate, something I'm really excited and proud about.

Suhani: And despite everything that made high school seem impossible, at moments, we persevered, though, maybe that's easier to say, in hindsight.

Sivan: I was on the wrestling team. And I would say the wrestling teams practices were the hardest of any sport I've ever done. And being in that room, and like sweating, and like suffering and constantly like pushing each other, in that hot, sweaty room for like, hours and hours every week, kind of brought me closer together with the people I was in there with. And because of that it just made it so enjoyable and memorable.

Sasha: Taking charge and making decisions for myself and talking to people in that way. I was always more of a follower than a leader. But this year, I think I've definitely learned to become more of a leader and make decisions and be in charge of some things. And I feel like that's been really useful. And it's really going to help me going forward. So I'd say that's the main thing. Yeah.

Sivan: Looking back, because I was so sporadic, and so like spontaneous about a lot of my decisions. It kind of hindered a lot of my growth and development in certain areas. And I feel like looking back, if I just stuck to certain things and tried new things, I would have probably been a very different person than I am now.

Sahit: Because freshman, sophomore year, I think like most students, I spent a great deal of time to studying and working. And I wish I did have more balanced, which means enjoying myself more, going out with my friends more doing hobbies, and just an overall sense of like fulfillment, which I feel like I lack that I found now.

Alana: Like embrace who you are and don't apologize for being who you are. I think that obviously when you're a freshman, you're so worried that the upperclassmen are going to judge you and other people are going to judge you and I just wish that I had embraced myself sooner I think I would have been a lot happier.

Soham: Enjoy enjoy these years. I kind of sounds cliche, but like, and like you know, when I heard obviously when we all heard it back, back when we were freshmen too, like, oh, yeah, don't worry, we have so much time. It's true. It's for real man, it goes by so fast. Take it take it one year at a time. We can time you know, just enjoy, enjoy high school man, prepare yourself, gain those qualities that you need to be successful in life moving forward. This is the time where you where you learn everything, learn your skills, learn what you want to do and stuff. So going forward, I think I'll remember all the experiences that I've had these past few years whether it be in soccer, you know, how to take a tough loss or how to how to you know, when to whens the right time to like celebrate wins around women to push hard to work hard and stuff.

Elizabeth: The threat of college isn't so much of a threat as just a next step that is going to happen regardless of whatever grades or things that happen along my high school journey. So I would say work hard. But take take time when you need it. And sometimes an assignment isn't as important as something else that's going on in your life.

Sasha: I don't know advice I would give freshmen me is just don't worry as much cuz you are, because like, things will work out. It won't just all like, be that, like, you'll have bad moments, but like, it'll all work itself out, I won't stay like that.

Sivan: So I'll probably take like the regrets, I guess that I have from high school and move into college with them such as like, trying new things and staying consistent with certain things. But at the same time, I think high school has taught me that I can like kind of push myself farther than I really thought I could initially. And so I'll probably carry that throughout the rest of my life.

Soham: I knew like even before like I decided where to go to college, I was like, I want to come back as much as possible back to Johns Creek. To just you know, hang out with my friends.

Sasha: Well, first of all, I want to get this out of the way. Sujana asked me to say see Sujana. So the number one thing that I will miss about high school is to Sujana Vangala. Which is true, like, I think the answer is that I'm just going to miss all my friends, like so much I'm going to try like really, really hard to keep in touch with everyone.

Dhruv: I think for me over the past four years, something I'm really going to like keep is like the ability to learn like not necessarily even the things I have learned, but like, you know, floundering, like figure things out, like sharing it with other people. Like I think I really value that.

Suhani: I think personally, I really value the relationships I've formed. You know, these past four years, and especially in this class, because we all came into this kind of not knowing each other. But we've gotten so close together and getting to see how we've improved from our first episode to now. And realizing that we did that together as a group. It's really fulfilling, and I'm so happy that we got to do it together.

Caleb: I think for me, regardless of how much work we put into each podcast, putting our heart and our soul into it, I think we also remain to have fun, like when we made them, and growing these relationships within the class and kind of creating a family. I think there's something special in that. And I think these are some of the relationships that I'll carry with me and not always remember, in my future and in college.

Dhruv: I think that like for me no matter what, even if I'm leaving physically, I'm like, I'm not going to be here anymore. Like all this stuff from high school like the cringe the mistakes like the good times, like the friendships, I'm going to keep those with me like in my heart always know what I mean, as corny as that sounds.

Suhani: No same. I'm really grateful for all the experiences, whether they be good or bad. And I mean, I'm so grateful to all the people who supported me these past four years, like my bus driver, all my teachers, all my friends, those people that you know, you pass on the hallways and just wave at you know, and thank you to everyone who's listening because, you know, podcasts was so important to me this year.

Caleb: For me, one thing I will say is that throughout high school, there's so many lessons that I've learned, but especially this year, it's just stretched me a bunch with whether it's like in education or whether it's socially. There's so much that I've learned in my growth has been, you know, exponential, and I'm grateful that high school has provided me with the lessons that I needed to take with me into the future. And I'm forever grateful for it.

Sahit: Outings, we've had my friends like we went through waterfalls, you know, hiking, rock climbing, these are all things I never imagined I'd ever do. Just because it seems so out of left field like if like, I didn't see myself as the kind of person to go out with my friends, like stay overnight or go to parties or anything. But it was only in senior semester that we went far beyond our comfort zone and the normal. Just go home and study and sleep kind of thing to do lots of crazy things and lots of really fun things risky but fun.

Suhani: This concludes our senior year send off episode. Now signing off. This was Suhani.

Dhruv: This was Dhruv.

Caleb: And this was Caleb. Thank you for tuning in this year to listen to Point of View.

Grace: For a transcript of this episode, head to the point of view tab on our website nhsmessenger.org And follow us on Instagram Twitter or Facebook @nhspointofview for updates or new episodes. I'm Grace, one of the editors-in-chief for Point of View next year and this has been Point of View.