People said our time at Delbarton would go by fast. Upperclassmen, alumni and faculty alike reminded me of this fact when I first transferred in junior year, and continually reminded the rest of my classmates in similar fashion. For some, that was freshman year, others seventh grade. Between schoolwork, sports, plays, arts festivals, and the many other things that we do as students and members of the community, there always was something immediately in front of us that required our attention, and it was hard most times to realize how finite our time would be at this incredible place. In general, and even up until this past winter midterm, graduation always seemed pretty far away.

And here we are now. With less than two weeks to go until the final day of classes, and just one more month after that until my class jumps forth into the fountain, together as Delbarton students for the last time.

Despite the end of my journey as a Delbarton student being so near, I, along with all my classmates, am still heavily involved with all aspects of the school community. We still have school work, sports practices, one act rehearsals, publications to edit, community service events like the Blood Drive, and much more going on in our lives. Yet however busy we remain, I have also felt this time of senior year to be one of heavy and deep reflection on the past four. When asked how I feel about graduating, I really feel one word sums up all my emotions: bittersweet. I’m both sad to leave the community, but also ecstatic to start the next chapter of my life in college.

That being said, I realized I was only speaking for myself, and knew that some of my fellow classmates probably had varying thoughts on the final months. So I decided to go and find out exactly what those reflections and thoughts were:

When asked about some of the things he would miss most about Delbarton, Andres Padilla ‘18 mentioned “the general brotherhood of the school, attending lots of awesome games, studying with my peers, and hanging around with friends around school”. Padilla also mentioned he really wanted to “finish off the year strong”.

I asked a few seniors if they would do it all over again. When asked this question, Rob Li ‘18 answered “yes, absolutely. The four years I’ve spent here have really been some I’ll never forget”.

Tommy Szymanski ‘18 added “I’m happy that the work is ending, but definitely sad that I have to leave, especially because of how great the people are here”.

When asked about some of his top memories at Delbarton, Councilman Joao Honorio ‘18 cited “the Friday night lights Seton Hall game last year. Watching everyone shine their flashlights in the air after we won, it was such an amazing feeling”.

Finally, when I asked Cian Nowak ‘18 if he agreed with my sentiment about graduation being bittersweet, he certainly did, saying that it is “bitter because I’m leaving a place I’ve been at and loved for six years, but sweet because I’m moving on to another point in my life”. He later noted that Delbarton has certainly prepared him for that next step.

     Overall, although this is only a microcosm of thought within the very diverse and talented 2018 class, it reiterates many of the feelings shared by most seniors as they end their high school careers. It hasn’t always been easy, and certainly everyone felt there were times when it would be nearly impossible to persevere. Yet just as the school motto Succisa Virescit states, “when cut down, one grows back stronger”, so too have all the seniors throughout their time at Delbarton. And I, along with my classmates, can all safely say we’ve become better students, brothers, and people because of it. We know that the journey as students ends here, but we’ll have the Delbarton family to come back to for the rest of our lives.