Senior year is such a bittersweet time in life—sweet for the student, bitter for the parent, I might add. But the last year of high school is supposed to be spent soaking up the little of time one has left in their hometown. This means going to all of the sports events, enjoying those last few family dinners, and participating in all of the dress-up days at school.

Of course, being a senior also means getting ready to leave home and learning how to actually do one’s own laundry, for instance, so it’s understandable that the year is accompanied by tons of stress.

There is the stress of applying to college and the stress of writing essays for scholarships and the stress of making sure your mom doesn’t cry every time she walks past your baby picture in the hallway. However, all in all, senior year is definitely a huge stepping stone in a student’s life.

Here at Cy Ranch, to document each senior’s life, all English IV students are assigned the “Legacy Project.” The assignment calls for a 3-5 minute video detailing one’s time in high school, including pictures of those who have inspired them and the legacy the student wants to leave after their teenage years.

“Making my legacy project video was actually a lot of fun and even made me a little emotional,” senior Madison Garner said. “I sat with my best friends and we went through pictures of us from middle school. We laughed about our awful outfits and all of the other memories we shared.”

This assignment serves as a visual description for students and their families to look back on their lives, using pictures to contrast how much each student has grown.

“My parents helped me pick which baby pictures I used in my video, which of course had my mom in tears,” Garner said.

Not only does the Legacy Project allow students to share the most important aspects of their childhood, it also lets them share their most memorable moments in high school.

“I went through pictures from this year while making my video and it just reminded me how much fun my senior year was,” senior Amanda Hill said. “I liked looking back on things like the state game and remembering the memories I made.”

Although this project is required exclusively through a class here at school, many students post their projects on social media sites for their family and friends to see so their legacy can reach beyond their peers.

“I shared my video with a lot of people to show how each person has impacted who I am today,” Hill said. “This project really made me appreciate my friends and family who have inspired and supported me all of my life.”