Molly Stine
Reporter
As second semester rolls around and the warm weather begins to bring in good vibes, students enjoy going out on the beloved senior patio. But in light of the delayed access to the patio, due to less than perfect weather, seniors have been given a chance to reflect on what the patio means to them as their careers as NCHS students come to a close.
Senior Jack Barfuss believes the patio is a place where he can be himself. “I feel like the patio is really a place where you can relax both physically and emotionally,” he said. “When I am tired from a long day of hard work, I come out here and sit in the sun and I feel much better.”
The tradition of the patio is something important to many students. “The patio is definitely an important senior tradition,” senior Martel Bruno said. “I know my siblings were seniors when I was a freshman, so from the other side of the lounge I could look out and see them enjoying the patio. It is something you definitely know coming into the high school that you’ll get to have once you move your way up.”
Senior Tori Williams agreed. “I remember after 8th grade graduation we walked by the senior patio and I thought to myself, ‘I want to be like them one day,’ because they all looked so cool,” she said. “The patio in simplest terms just means seniority, and that you’re on top.”
Colin Welsh believes there is something empowering about being a second semester senior. “As a senior, the patio represents our superiority over everyone else,” he said.
Jack thinks the patio is a special senior tradition for its own reasons. “It is a completely different aspect of seniority, unlike events such as senior service day and prom,” he said. “But still significant in it’s own right.”
One of the many reasons students cherish the patio is because of the simple fact that it is outdoors. “It is nice to be outside for once,” senior Charlie Freyre said. “We spend a significant amount of time indoors and it actually lessens spring fever, so I think the teachers would go more crazy if the seniors didn’t have this patio,” he said.
Despite the nice weather, some students can’t embrace the relaxation of the patio until their workload lessens. “Because it is still somewhat cold out and I am still in school-mode, I can’t truly appreciate the patio quite yet,” senior Tess Musky-Goldwyn said. “Right now my #1 focus is AP testing. But once that’s over with I will actually be able to relax outside, and make having fun be my #1 priority.”
The patio is also something that would make people less likely to leave campus. “When the patio is open people don’t go off during triples, they just want to stay out here in the sun and hang out with their friends,” senior Courtney Cole said.
The space has other unifying qualities. “It is easier to bond on the patio than it is in the lounge, and it’s less segregated,” senior Rebecca Mellinger said. “The eat off contest at the beginning of the year was held out here and it really made our grade closer by just having everyone together.”
Martel added that this unification of the senior class is what makes the patio truly special. “With the warm weather, the patio is something that really allows you to get excited about being a second semester senior and enjoy the limited time that we all have left together,” she said.
The senior patio is more than just a patio, but holds a great deal of significance for the entire senior class. “We have had a record number of memories on the senior patio, and we’ve still got plenty of time to make more,” senior Kaelin Campbell said.
