After a long summer, school’s back and so is the stress and the excitement, the dances and the sporting events.

As a result, every student has different feelings about the coming year and what they are looking forward to the most. Those with the most varied answers tend to be the freshmen and the seniors, as one group is entering MHS while the other is preparing to leave.

Lisa Lamb, freshman, expressed how she’s excited about joining clubs, particularly the broadcast team, and about joining sports.

“I’m excited for all the activities and the new people I’ll be meeting,” said Lamb.

And like many girls, Lamb was looking forward to Homecoming.  Her idea of the cutest way to ask someone to Homecoming is a “poster with a really good cheesy pun.”  “That’d be great,” she said.

On the other hand, Dylan Tessitore, freshman, has different views on what he’s looking forward to this year.

“To get good grades, better than the ones I got last year (in eighth grade),” said Tessitore who wants to stay focused on school throughout his next four years.

Other than school, though, Tessitore is looking forward to the football games and the baseball season in the spring. He said he hopes to play for the freshman team, so he can play all four years of high school baseball.

For the seniors, many are looking forward to graduation and college. Yet, they also feel the stress of choosing a college that is perfect for them based on majors offered, tuition costs, scholarships provided, sports played and distance from home.

Some, though, already know where they are headed next fall.

Janeece Ader, senior, has committed to Alabama State University for Division 1 soccer.  While she had considered other schools, Alabama State University is giving her an 80 percent scholarship. As a result, she is working to prepare for playing college soccer.

“I’m excited but scared for soccer,” she said. “It’s pre-season, which is a lot of running.”

Additionally, she’s trying to raise her ACT score to a 25 to make her eligible for more scholarship money to help cover the 20 percent of tuition that’s left.

While Ader is looking forward to the future, she’s also planning on enjoying her senior year with “easy classes.” “I don’t have to do any homework,” she said.

Erendida Garcia, senior, shared similar feelings to those as Ader, but she also commented on looking forward to all the “lasts” of high school.

One event she mentioned was prom “because it’s [her] last year and [her] last dance with everybody in this school.”

But like many seniors, under the excitement is nervousness about college admissions.

She will be applying to College of Lake County, Northern Illinois University and Southern Illinois University.

“The whole process from beginning to end [makes me nervous because] I’m the first generation [to go to college] and having to do everything by myself,” she said. “I think it’s going to be sort of difficult.”