Episode 17: Life of a 2020 Senior w/ Arianna

October 5, 2020·1 hr·4 clips

Ariana pushes back on adults telling 2020 seniors to look forward to the future: 'I have been looking forward to this time for 12, 13 years — this still sucks.'

The episode opens with hosts Erica and Emily introducing Ariana, their guest and former student body president, who is preparing to attend the University of Miami in the fall. Ariana explains how she knows each host through their shared gifted middle school program, where unusual grade mixing created an odd but memorable social dynamic. She describes her excitement and stress about moving to Miami, noting that first-year students are required to live on campus, get a meal plan, and cannot bring a car — a policy she navigates by leaving her car with family in Miami. Ariana details her dorm situation, a suite-style room with a roommate and one remaining suite mate after another dropped out. She discusses choosing the cheapest meal plan after reading Reddit posts about food poisoning at the dining hall. The conversation shifts to her college application process: she applied to FIU, FSU, UF, UCF, UM, Hofstra (via fee waiver), and Harvard, with Harvard being her only rejection. She reflects on why she chose to stay in-state despite a childhood dream of attending NYU, citing cost, distance from family, and the value of Florida's Bright Futures scholarship. The hosts are visibly surprised to learn UM costs $52,080 per year, and Ariana explains how a $23,000 presidential scholarship, Bright Futures, state grants, and nine outside scholarships — including a $7,000 Selby award and $5,000 from the Community Foundation of Sarasota — are covering much of the cost. She notes stress over a financial aid balance still being processed just days before her move-in date. The episode then turns to COVID's impact on her senior year. Ariana recounts how senior skip day was her last real day of school, followed by a spring break trip to Miami that was derailed when events were canceled one after another. She describes standing at a store checkout counter holding a prom dress when her mom received a call extending spring break — and putting the dress back on the rack. A voicemail from the school principal later canceled prom, grad bash, and senior awards night, which Ariana heard while studying on her lanai; she snapped at her father and brother before breaking down. Graduation was rescheduled to July 16th, but was canceled again just one week before the date, which Ariana calls the worst moment because of the false hope it created. Two community members stepped in, organizing three ceremonies of about 50 graduates each at city hall, with donated stage, chairs, and a radio station broadcasting audio for families watching from cars. Ariana spoke at all three ceremonies and describes the 5:30 ceremony being held in the rain, with no parent leaving their seat. She criticizes the school principal for refusing to participate in any graduation activities, then photoshopping himself into diploma pickup photos. Erica, who will serve as student body president the following year, expresses anxiety about what her own year will look like. The conversation closes with a broader discussion about Florida's handling of COVID, the opening of theme parks, and whether high school milestones will ever carry the same cultural weight again. Ariana pushes back on adults who told her to look forward to the future, arguing that she had already been looking forward to senior year for over a decade and that the future is now more uncertain than ever.

As heard by us

A candid senior-year conversation about college, COVID-era disruptions, and graduation logistics.

Episode 17 keeps its focus on college applications, senior-year life, and the COVID-era disruptions that shaped that stretch of time. Ariana, introduced as student body president, gives the conversation a practical center, and the talk also circles back to how the speakers know…

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