Seniors Say:

GRAVETTE — THE WORLD’S A STAGE By Shawn Thompson

High school has been quite the adventure for me. I’ve had my ups and my downs but the same can be said for anyone. Overall, senior year has been the best year of my life and I’m really happy with who I’ve become. Freshman and sophomore years were completely horrible for me and I’m so glad I’ve been able to put them behind me. However, I am thankful for them because the mistakes I made then have helped me become who I am now. Junior year is when life began to look up for me. I found acting, something that I could be passionate about, while at the same time being something that I was good at. So I pursued it. That’s not to say the year was full of good times. The worst thing about junior year was the cancellation of my first play, The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon, and that’s all I’m going to say about that for fear of retaliation from the school board.

After that came Cinderella, in which I got a very small part, but it was a musical and I can’t sing so I ATTEND COLLEGE By Brittany Crawley

Although I am not exactly sure what I want to do for my career, my future plans after graduating from high school are attending college and working full time.

MY PLANS By Brittany Walling

For my future I am hoping to get accepted into NWACC to be in their nursing program to get my license to be an RN. Then I would like to get a good job working in the pediatric unit of a hospital.

SMALL TOWN U.S.A.

By Juliana Woelling

When I think about Gravette a song crosses my mind: “A Small Town USA” by Justin Moore. His lyrics describe Gravette pretty well: “Everybody knows me and I know them and I be- I AWAIT By Nick Ryan Boyd-Goodlett

The final semester of your senior year is the proverbial “final stretch”. It’s when you anxiously await that fateful day when you are handed your diploma. Personally, I want to leave an impression on the underclassmen. That way they will step up and fill the shoes that us seniors have left. I want to finally make All State to show that it can be done. But mainly I just want not to fail.

MY RESOLUTION By Taylor McCaffrey

The resolution I have for my senior year is mainly to keep my grades up. I want to keep my high grades so that I will be able to graduate with honors and still be eligible for scholarships I plan to apply for. However, I do not want my senior year to just be all work so I also intend to have a good time and make memories with my friends.

wasn’t too concerned. Then came senior year and it’s been completely awesome so far. It can only get better from here. I was the Mad Hatter in Alice In Wonderland and it was the first major role. I was extremely stoked for the role and it was definitely my favorite play I’ve been a part of. Currently, casting for our next play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, has recently ended and I was cast as Lysander, which was a huge surprise. It’s a huge role and it will be extremely difficult for me but everyone is going to have difficulties because we’re going to performing Shakespeare. Also, while I was disappointed in my role at first, I’ve now realized that it’s the perfect role to help me grow as an actor and I’m very excited for it.

Forensics, or competitive acting, has also been a huge part of my life. This last year was my first year in it and it was a whole new experience for me but I really enjoyed it. This year I’m more experienced and it’s completely different but still completely amazing. My goal with forensics is to make it to the Tournament of Champions and finally place in finals. Aside lieve that’s the way we are supposed to live, wouldn’t trade one single day here in Small Town U.S.A.” It is an ode to the spirit and simplicity of small town life in the U.S.A.. I believe many people feel the same way about living in Gravette and going to Gravette High School. I’m an exchange student and I got the opportunity to feel the “senior spirit:” this year. My goals are improving my English and just having fun! School in the U.S. is very different than in my home country. Gravette High School gives me a different view on different things and makes me more tolerant to accept things. It taught me a good lesson for life and opened my mind.

MY SENIOR YEAR By Jamie Leemasters

Growing up in Gravette, I have met so many people and friends throughout elementary, middle school I PLAN By Jacy Alsup

I plan on attending a four year university next fall to get my Bachelor’s Degree in Ag Business with a minor in either ag communications or ag economics. My top two choices of schools include Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, or Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.

I’VE LEARNED By Daisy Kusters

(from the Netherlands)

The is my senior year but also my last semester in America. That is why my goal is to have fun, make a lot of friends and to have a good experience. Also I want to improve my English more because I know that is not perfect yet.

Gravette is a small town and it’s a real farm community. I think that is great. I live also in a town with a lot of farms but here it is still different. In my counfrom acting, my academic resolutions are to pass all my classes and graduate. From there I’m hoping I get accepted into the U of A so I can attend it for a year or two before deciding what I want to do for the rest of my life.

Socially, life has gotten better and better as time’s gone on. This year my best friends, Kristyn Saunders and Austin Picard, have become a huge part of my life and I’m glad to have them to help make every day worthwhile. Mr. Galloway and Mr. Porter have also had a tremendous effect on my growth as a person, as an actor and as a student and I’m incredibly thankful to have them in my life to help make high school as awesome as it can be. Without my friends, without acting and without Mr. Galloway and Mr. Porter there’s no way I’d have made it this far and I can’t even imagine what life would be like if that had happened. So, for the rest of my year in high school, my resolutions are basically just to have the best year I can possibly have with the things that are most important to me, friends, acting and my favorite teachers.

and high school. Now that I’m a senior in my very last semester, I’m really thinking about my future...and my past. I’ve learned a lot and I know that no matter where I go, I can always come back to Gravette.... back to the place where I grew up.....back to my hometown. My goal for my last semester here at GHS is to make better grades and hopefully place first. I would like to spend more time with my friends too because after graduation I’m not so sure that we aren’t going to drift off into our separate lives. After graduation I want to go either to a nursing college or a medical school where I can get licensed to be a registered nurse. Those are my goals and I’m very glad that I got the opportunity to be a small town girl and build my friendships, relationships and my education in Gravette, Arkansas.

try only 2% ( I think) of the communities. In Gravette everyone is helping each other, going to watch the games and have a strong connection. That is how I see Gravette. The high school is so much different but I like it. You can choose a lot of classes that we don’t have in The Netherlands. An example is Intro Culinary or Human Behavior. Also I like how the school looks. It’s a little the same as in the movies. That is funny if you think about it.

If I look back the last few months that I have been here I’ve learned a lot already. My English, but also the difference in culture. Next semester I will learn a lot more and my experience will be better. You learn more about yourself but also the things you can do to make a difference in where you live. This year will make me more ready for college.

I want to say, “Thank you for everything, for making this an awesome year for me.”A SENIOR SAYS By Deana Echols

My New Year’s resolution is that I plan to get better grades so my GPA will go up. I’m very proud to be a citizen of Gravette. Even though I wasn’t born here I’ve lived my whole life in Gravette. I love this town basically because it is small. I love small towns because everybody knows almost everyone. Gravette is just like that. It is my last year at Gravette High School and I’m both happy and sad. I’m happy because I finally get to graduate and go to college afterwards. I’m sad though because I don’t know if I will ever find another community that is as loving, caring and very helpful like Gravette is. I have had some bad times at Gravette High School in the past where I hated some teachers but after that year and the following year rolled around I was very glad that those teachers were hard on us. Like this year I had a teacher who I hated for being so strict but I got over it and that teacher’s advice will help me a lot when I go to college next year. I love the town of Gravette, its school and most of all its community. Please don’t ever change so when I come back after college I won’t feel like I don’t belong, but feel right at home.

LAST MOMENTS AT GRAVETTE By Tanner Daniels

Many teenagers wait for the day they get to leave home. They forget all the great times spent in high school and in Gravette. Unlike these teenagers, I will miss my high school experience. Even though I have only attended Gravette since my sophomore year I have really connected with the community. Gravette is close to my heart. It is a town I now call “home” andI will honestly miss everything about it.

Friday nights were always exciting in the small town of Gravette. People would always pack into the stadium to watch the Lions beat up on some other school. In the end, the football team always ended with a winning record and would always end up getting a win. At the end of their playoff run, basketball season began. Although basketball has never been my main passion, I will miss playing the games and representing my community. Each year, the baseball team would work hard and win a lot of games. We ended up making the playoffs my sophomore and junior year. We have won the Regional Championship and Conference Championship but we haven’t been able to put a state ring on our fingers yet. I will really miss all the game days, fans and all the excitement that came with playing high school sports.

Sports were great but my friends made my experience at Gravette unforgettable. It’s going to be really hard to say goodby on graduation day. Many of my friends will go their own separate ways but hopefully many will stay close to me and our friendship will never end.

Gravette will always be important to me and always be a big part in my life. Although my high school years at Gravette are almost over, I will never forget all of the memories made during my time here.

SENIORS By Julia Himsl

Some people may say that being a student at Gravette High isn’t something to brag about but I beg to differ. I have been here all my life and it is my senior year. My final semester resolutionwould have to be being on the team that turns the girls’ basketball program around. Basketball is something I picked up in the third grade and I have played ever since. As of 2009 we have four seniors on the girls’ team, Taylor Detring, Morgan Bayley, Jacy Alsup and me. We four have been together since fifth grade and others since third. Our fourth and fifth grade year we worked hard and received first place in the district tournaments. Unfortunately, our sixth grade year we lost to Lincoln for first place at our last tournament in Gentry. Ever since that day I feel like the girls’ basketball program has been struggling. It doesn’t help much considering that Gravette is mostly a football town. The years have passed and now in 2009 we, the Lady Lions of Gravette High School, are now 2-0 in conference, 5-3 overall. We have never been in this position before and it’s a very nice feeling. Coach Thomas says, “We practice everyday to play against the best teams.” I PLAN By Amber Tucker

I probably can speak for most of the senior class when I say I am ready to graduate and move on to bigger and better things. This year has most likely been my hardest year because I am so anxious to graduate. To make sure that I pass with high grades I have set up some resolutions for the last semester of my high school year. I plan to not procrastinate as much as I am now, get all of my scholarships and college stuff done and make sure that I am getting the best experience out of my senior year as possible. So far senior year has been one of my hardest but also the funniest year of my school years.

For my final semester of high school I want to manage my time better. I really want to get better grades my last semester in high school and I think that if I get my priorities straight I can achieve this goal. Also I plan to take many more pictures so that I will always remember my senior year. I want to make time to spend with all of my friends before we go our separate ways. I would also like to spend more time with my mom because I love her so much!

BUSINESS PLANS By Shelby Thomas

I have planned to go to college for at least two years (probably NWACC) and after achieving a degree in business management I hope to start my own photography business. I have chosen this because photography is something I have always loved to do and this is a feasible way for me to support myself. I hope I am going to be happy doing something I love and I hope it all works out because I don’t know if I could do anything else.

yourself. Your parents won’t be there to do everything for you at college and the college professors are not going to make you come to class or do your homework because they really don’t care if you do it or not. You have to take responsibility for everything in your life once you graduate from high school.

My final semester resolution is to finish everything I need done to be prepared for college and to have a fantastic senior year. I need to apply for college, apply for scholarship, have a great basketball season, say goodbye to friends and take responsibility.

MORE FUN By Jesse Wyatt Owens

For my last semester of high school I resolve to have more fun and keep my light attitude towards life. I’ve become so obsessed with being my personal best at everything That I kind of lost a bit of my fun side and that is what helps me keep progressing.

MANAGING TIME By Shelby Goff

LOOKING FORWARD By Taylor Detring

Senior year is something students always look forward to, the easy classes and the feeling of having control over the school. Now that my senior year is halfway over I’ve realized it’s more complicated than I expected. During my second half of my senior year I have to fill out college and scholarship applications, have my grades at their very best, get my ACT score up, finish a good basketball season and say goodbye to friends.

The most common question asked to seniors is, “What will you miss the most about high school?” Multiple students will give you the answer, “Nothing. I can’t wait to get out.” Well, that’s not the case with me. I don’t want to leave high school. I’m going to miss everything about high school. Who wants to leave a place that has teachers who basically do your homework for you? Once high school is over your life will take a major change. You will have to start doing everything forTAKING RESPONSIBILITY By Beth Malone

Senioritis. After four years of high school the procedure becomes mundane, the people all but too familiar and the academia insubstantial. It’s a disease, an inevitable mood that shapes our behavior and has a mind of its own, of which I am afflicted.

I look back on my days of ease when essays weren’t more than five paragraphs, one introduction, one body and one conclusion; when there was an entire class devoted to reading; and when science class turned into a psychoanalysis of our teacher. Those were thedays of fun, fun and more fun and I miss those days.

But now is my chance to grow up, join the world of adults and take responsibility for my future. This 2010 New Year’s is going to be a truly life-changing experience. Instead of vowing to change my diet to lose those extra pounds or finally find a fulfilling career path, I resolve to take on responsibility. Not long will it be that I must pay my own way through life and take charge of my future education and career so, after this year, I plan to take whatever steps are necessary to be responsible for my own self. I’m selfmedicating myself against my affliction and am going to win the battle.

The News Herald has appreciated and enjoyed the participation by members of the Senior Class in sharing their resolutions, their observations and their expectations with us in this series of articles.

We hope you have enjoyed their writings as much as we have. Again, we thank them!