Hello, my name is Lillian Losiniecki. I am the Senior Class president at Hinckley-Big Rock High School. I have been granted the honor of sharing my reflection on my past four years at Hinckley-Big Rock. I am extremely grateful for the opportunities presented to me here, and I can honestly say that I do not know who or where I would be if I had never attended HBR.
My freshman year was nothing like I expected it to be. I started my freshman year in August of 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, all of my classes were online. I did not have a freshman orientation, or experience being at the bottom of the school’s food chain. Even later in the year, when we were finally allowed to attend in person again, it was nothing close to normal. The school felt completely empty, maybe half of the students were there. My Algebra class had four people in person. (And due to not having an orientation I had quite the time finding my way around.) It was like a dystopian movie walking around the school, seeing signs reminding students to wear their masks and remain six feet apart. Sports were a whole other ballgame. Throughout my high school experience, I have participated in three sports: Golf, Cheerleading, and Track and Field. We were not able to practice any sports until we were allowed back into the school. Consequently, there were double the sports running at a time as there should have been. We could not stunt during cheer, and the JV golf team did not practice at the golf course. If I remember correctly, track was the only somewhat normal sport. Despite all of this, I sincerely enjoyed my freshman year, and look back on my memories fondly.
My sophomore year was by far my favorite. While we were still experiencing remnants of the pandemic regulations, we were moving further back into normalcy. Sports were back to normal, clubs reopened, and everyone was back at school.
As I progressed through high school, and the grades above me graduated, I began to realize how quickly time had passed. I always thought I had so much time until I graduated. 2024 sounded so far away, and then suddenly I was a senior. The people I had looked up to for so long had gone out into the world. It still freaks me out to think that my class is exactly where so many others were before.
Now, with only 89 days until graduation, it still has not sunk in. In 89 days I will no longer be a student at HBR. I won’t see my classmates next year, I probably won’t see most of them again. Time never stops, no matter how much you wish it would.
My time at HBR has taught me so many things that I could not possibly list them. From rocket math in second grade to the quadratic formula and argumentative essays, I have truly learned so much. I would not trade this experience for the world. I cannot believe how fast this has gone by. I want to sincerely thank everyone who has or still works at HBR for having such an impact on my life. I could not have done this alone!
By: Lillian Losiniecki - HBRHS Class of 2024