By Madalyn Milner
“I like that new things offer a new chance. You get to start over. … I hate being stuck in the same old thing,” she said.
A girl who loves to explore, she wants more than what’s in the palm of her hand. Eighteen candles blown out on the birthday cake, and her fire is still going.
Senior Christina Thorpe, 18, wants to be a clinical therapist. She found her passion by talking to people.
“I’m very interested in how people work, and why they do the things they do,” she said. “I want to know what goes on inside their heads. I really want to make an impact in people’s lives, big or small. I know I want to make an impact on this world because I was not born to play small.”
These seniors enter the adult world and they all have different takes on this brand-spanking new adventure. Part of being an adult is being a leader and not a follower.
Thorpe started a club this school year: Women’s Empowerment.
She had one target in mind and she achieved it. She’s dead set on helping others and is determined to make a difference.
“(Women’s Empowerment) has definitely made me meet myself at a deeper level,” Thorpe said. “It definitely showed me the true power of friendship and sisterhood. It’s like Barbe land and shows how much improving society has to do. That is a very reachable goal. I think we’re making small and steady steps and can end up making a better school and environment.”
People plan for college in high school and plan ahead for what they truly want to do. When they finally turn 18, that’s about the time where everything sets in.
The anxiety, curiosity, and possible atrocity of the future wrapped in a ball.
Senior Avery Stinson had that experience first-hand.
“I’m scared of the unknown. How do I know if I’m making the right choice?” Stinson said.
She is going to Ball State. Her plan is to live with her parents until she can get on her feet, and then she’s on from there.
She has big goals in mind and said she believes time is always of the essence. Stinson doesn’t like to waste anything, whether that be her time, money, or education.
“(A big fear for me is) not succeeding academically because that’s a waste of money,” Stinson said.
She is about to be 18 and knows what taking on responsibility looks like.
“What it means to me is that I can support myself financially and then also make important decisions without the help of others,” she said.
Another senior, Jesus Dominguez, knows what it’s like to take on responsibility. This year is his third and final year at Delta after moving here from El Paso, Texas.
Dominguez got into a routine immediately, and he wants to get back into a rhythm again like he always does when he has things piling up on his plate.
“In college, I’m going to have to figure that out in my freshman year,” he said. “I think I’ll be nervous the first year about how to get things done and then be able to move forward.”
He wants to be a nurse. The plan is to go to IVY Tech his first year or two of college, and then move his credits over to Ball State.
Saving lives and exploration are things Dominguez loves.
“I’m happy that I’m 18 and able to do more than I did,” he said.
Dominguez isn’t the only one that’s happy to be an adult. Lindsey Lynch is too and she’s going off to Butler University to pursue her cheerleading career.
Lynch, who also runs on the cross country and track teams, says she hopes to live her life like a marathon, not a sprint. She wants to take things slowly instead of rushing from one day to the next.
Lindsey has one expectation for herself.
“My biggest expectation after high school is to go in with a clear mindset, a new beginning,” she said. “And, just to work really hard on my sport and do really well in school. So, when I graduate from college, I have my whole life set up already.”
Lynch is ready to go above and beyond her wildest dreams. She said she wanted to go with the flow.
“I’m not scared because I’m ready to get the heck out of here and live my life,” she said.
Not only is Lynch ready for the big step, but so is Addison Shue.
Shue is going to Ball State and is hoping to become an occupational therapist.
She had had her fair share of sports all the way from cross country, to swim, to track. Shue loves to run long distances, and signed herself up for a half marathon this upcoming summer.
Before she finishes out her race to wrap up high school, she wants to break 13 minutes in the 3200 meter run.
