Senior quotes are back! All of the quotes had to be submitted by Friday, September 28th. The requirements were that they had to be under 115 characters and be relatively school appropriate. Senior quotes were able to make the big comeback due to over half of our senior student body submitting quotes. When the Yearbook Club made the announcement at the senior meeting, all of the seniors rallied together, and our hard work paid off.

In recent years, quotes went underneath the picture, and seniors’ plans for the future were on a separate page. Last year, however, their plans were under the photo, and quotes were completely removed. I, personally, enjoy reading senior quotes. They often have good advice, and tell a lot about the person. Plus, people who didn’t want a quote didn’t have to submit one. For people who do this year, the deadline has been pushed back, which seems like the Yearbook staff also wants this change to be permanent.

My grade cheered when the announcement was made. I feel that over half of us will submit something, so I don’t believe participation will be an issue. We are seniors. Having a quote is one of the perks of being a senior. We have senior photos, senior skip day, senior seminar, etc. Why shouldn’t we include senior quotes? In a dramatic way, depriving our senior quote opportunity deprives us one grade-specific aspect that previous grades had.

I get that there is always the concern about the quote itself. What if they are not school appropriate? To combat this, people should be mature and not even submit an inappropriate quote, because it is common sense to know it will not be put in the yearbook. We are on the verge of being adults. Some of the quotes are actually really good, and are quality advice. We are going into “the real world” and our (potentially) influential quotes from cool people can be something to keep in the back of our minds. It is also good for people who are reading the quote who could use the words of wisdom.

Senior quotes are important to us seniors, which is why there was so much protesting to bring them back. They tell us about the senior’s personality, are a paramount part of being graduating, and can be really helpful for our future. I’m really glad I get to have a senior quote, even though there are restrictions. I, for one, am happy to voice my opinion for the status quote!