As the 2022-2023 school year slowly comes to an end, seniors all over the United States have started to commit to colleges and universities.Naturally, a decision such as this one takes hours of consideration. So, when a student comes to this long-awaited decision it is only natural to want to share this information with one’s friends and family.
One way that students choose to share this decision is through social media. In recent years across the US the idea of “commits” Instagrams have spread. Accounts like these are dedicated to each high school in which they post pictures of the senior as well as the school they are committing to as well as their major if applicable.
The Instagram account for commits was started by Saura Rathore, the class of 2023 President. “We're leaving and going our separate paths, and I think it's cute that we get to collectively cheer for each other and our respective future paths,” Rathore explained.
“Since I'm the Senior Class President, many seniors were asking me about an account as such existing for our class since some people have started to commit to colleges, so all of this just prompted me to finally create and run an account as such for our class,” Rathore explained.
In recent weeks many seniors have started to submit their decisions as well as a photo of themselves to go along with it. Senior student Penelope Buckingham, who recently committed to Emerson College as a Theater and Performance major, believes that it is a great way to “bond and connect all the seniors together even as we split off to different places around the world.”
As more and more people continue to be posted, their friends and family are given the chance to support them by leaving them sweet messages in the comments. “It's a very fun-natured concept,” Rathore expressed.
This tradition of Commit’s Instagram pages has been a special thing to many students, including Buckingham who explained that she has “been following the Senior Commits Instagram Pages for years. It's so cool that now I'm finally able to join in and be a part of it.”
Another senior, Kiele Niño, said, “I feel like I’ve come a long way, and making it known that this is my next step felt reassuring.” Niño feels that Instagram pages like these are so special especially since she feels strongly that the class of 2023 has such a strong sense of community.
This new chapter in people’s lives can be very overwhelming and many have begun to experience very different feelings. Finn Sedan, who committed to Berklee College of Music, explained that “it feels normal,” to reach this moment in his life. Though Sedan had always felt drawn to Berklee, he still feels that he “still hasn’t taken time to process,” this finally decided part of his future.
It is very true that after working hard for so long, seniors will finally be able to rest, knowing that things have fallen into place. But it is also important that students keep pushing forward for the development of their futures. Senior Ryan Li agrees and encourages underclassmen, most importantly juniors to “keep trying no matter what.” Li wants to make sure that his fellow classmates keep in mind that colleges and universities “like consistency, not talent,” encouraging them to keep on going, as hard work is always rewarded.
To Sedan, making this post public on the Commits feels like a way of showcasing the school that he “fell in love,” due to its diversity, beautiful campus, and “the atmosphere it brings.”
Being proud of where you’ve been and where you are going is a very important part of growing up and changing as a person. “The point of these posts is to feel proud about having gone through high school and feeling confident about your upcoming future plans,” Rathore emphasized.
“We've all been together and seen each other grow these last four years, and it all feels very unreal,” Rathore explained. Despite this being a very hard and very trying time, she encourages her fellow peers to remember “As a class, we've grown and developed to be so resilient and persevering, that I'm proud and confident that we'll do well wherever we end up going.”
