By Rachel Baird
Senior year of high school tends to sneak up on students. Just like that, four years of your life will have passed and you will soon be moving on to the next stages of your life.
Senior Crystal Whalen is a well known student at Centennial High School by both her peers and staff. Due to her outstanding skills and commitment to Dance Team, along with her kind spirit and energetic personality, she has made a name for herself over these past four years.
Whalen’s commitment towards dance started when she was very young. “I was three years old when I joined Sarah Shaw dance studio. The first class I took was a small ballet class.”
Little did Whalen know that this was going to be the beginning of several years of hard work and dedication towards dance and the formation of a ‘family’ of friends that would dance alongside her.
Whalen commented on her experience dancing in high school. “It was a learning experience for me. It was fun when I was an underclassmen because I would just have to learn the dances from the superior dancers and make sure that I did well. Once I became a senior, dance began to become stressful and chaotic for me because there were so many expectations on my shoulders along with the other seniors on my team.”
Considering how difficult Whalen’s dance career had become towards the end, you would think that she would be happy to move on from it and leave it in the past. However, Whalen reassures herself that she knows as dancing is no longer a part of her life, she will miss it.
“There comes a time in your life when you want it to be over, but then once it’s gone, you’ll look back and miss everything it did for you in your life. I will never forget all the experiences and opportunities it gave me.”
Once Whalen graduates from Centennial, she will no longer dance but instead focus on her career goal of becoming a Nurse Practitioner.
Whalen stated, “I know that once I am in college, I am going to miss being in high school. Mostly because of the aspect of life being simple and always having someone there to assist you whether that be teachers or your close friends. I’m definitely going to miss being close with everyone around me.”
Whalen is planning on attending Colorado State University- Pueblo and joining the nursing program in order to get her nursing degree and soon specialize as a Nurse Practitioner.
“I am specifically interested in this career because I enjoy being able to help and meet new people while also doing good for the community.”
Whalen decided to stay close to home for this next stage in her life because she is close with her family, and knows she will need their support. However, Whalen noted that “once I am out of college there will come a time when I want to move on and experience new places and do my own thing.”
For every student, there comes a time when senior graduation will be right around the corner. But it is up to every individual to see and decide where they want their life to go and that all depends on the decisions they make, and the work they put into reaching their goals.
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