Our Time 1998

I wa s a s k ed to wr i te a l i t t le t h i ng a b o ut our c l a ss for t he y e a r b o o k. So I a s k ed my s e l f, "Wh o a re we ? Wh a t de f i nes t he c l a ss of ' 9 8 ? " Wh a t I see wh e n I l ook at our c l a ss is a g r o up of d i v e r s e, fun, and h a rd wo r k i ng i nd i– v i du a l s. I n d i v i d u a ls t hat h a ve g r own t oge t he r, l a u g h ed t og e t h e r, and p a r t i ed t o g e t h er t wo y e a r s. We h a ve su f f e r ed t o g e t h er t h r o u gh t wo y e a rs of b e i ng g u i n ea p i gs for t h is p i o n e e r i ng i n s t i t u t i on. We ' v e d o ne t hat s o p h omo re t h i ng: all of u s s i t t i ng on e a ch o t h er d u r i ng o r i e n t a t i o n, t he s o p h omo re As i an c l i qu e, Vi c t o r y, G o o dm an p r o j e c ts q u e s t i o n i ng Hu ck F i n n ' s s exua l i t y, g e t t i ng our bu t ts k i c k ed d u r i ng H om e c om i ng we e k , and t he p i l l ow wa l l. Th en c ame t he " I MSA n i t y" of j u n i o r y e a r: J ame s; g e t t i ng r i p p ed off d u r i ng skit n i g ht and t he p ep r a l ly (we s hou ld h a ve wo n ! ), P i n e ' s mu l t i p le c h o i ce t e s t s, s i x -mo n th l a te Sk i n n er p a p e r s, h a n g i ng out in 03 e v e ry n i ght at n i ne, and g e t t i ng k i c k ed out of I MSA for s t e a l i ng. We wo r k ed ou r bu t ts off for e v e r y t h i ng l ast y e a r a nd it s h owe d. We ma de mo r e mo n ey for p r om t h an a ny o t h er c l a ss in r e c e nt y e a r s. Our c l a ss h as five p e r f e ct s c o r es on t he SAT to da t e. We s h owed t h is s c hool wh a t it is c a p a b le of. " An d now, i t 's n i n e t y - s e v e n, i t ' ll soon be n i n e t y - e i g h t. We ' r e in c h a r ge n ow; i t 's t ime to r e g u l a t e! I t ' s our U - b e n c h! I t 's our U - b e n c h ! " We h a ve wa i t ed two y e a rs for the. mome n t t hat we c o u ld say on our c l a ss c l ub me e t i ng s i gn s, " S e n i or U - b e n c h ." And if we see a ny u n d e r c l a s smen s i t t i ng on it w i t h o ut p e rm i s s i o n, y ou all k n ow wh a t h a p p e n s. Se n i or yea r. All t hat h a rd wo r k the from the l ast t wo y e a r s p a y s off now. N ow as we a pp ly to c o l l e g e, t he wh o l e IMSA expe r i ence c ome s i n to p e r s p e c t i v e. We c ame and s h a p ed our p e r s o n a l i t i e s; we de f i ned who we a re and wh o we are ever go i ng to b e . We h a ve de f i ned o u r s e l v es as s uc c e s s f u l. I feel t hat our c l a ss c an and wi ll s u c c e ed at any– t h i ng we face. In t en or t we n ty y e a rs you wi ll see n ame s on t he n ews and in t he t ab– l o i ds, and y ou wi ll r e c o g n i ze t h em and say, " H e y I r o omm ed wi th t hat ye ti b a ck at I MS A . " Go od l u c k, c l a ss of 1998. —Pavan Br ahmamdam, class club president Above: Jane Kim, Courtney Meyers, Camille McCormick and Jessany Spraggins share a hug with each other duringjunior year. Right: Mimi Wojnarowski and Kristin Krukenberg display their wide-eyed smiles at the thought of senior year. s 4 2 I Seniostss