Senior sunset celebrates seniors one last time

The annual school tradition of Senior Sunset took place on May 22 at 6:00 p.m. on the football field. Many seniors came an hour after the event started, as many came from the annual Asian American Association (AAA) Night Market, which also took place at the school, and ended at 7 p.m..
As the sun began to set, nostalgic music was blasting from the speakers as students signed each others t-Shirts to commemorate the last senior get together. ASB was selling various sized white t-Shirts for $4.00 and the Class of 2026 quarterzips for $40.00 at the edge of the football field for those who had yet to buy the merch. The white t-Shirts, which were used for signing, quickly sold out..
Senior Sunset is a senior tradition that has been going on at MHS for as long as senior Meiyi Chung can remember, she said.
“It’s really important as a final send-off to all the seniors as one final time to bond with each other and sign yearbooks,” Chung said.
The senior students who, at the moment, were not signing t-Shirts or yearbooks were throwing around footballs, playing spikeball, kicking around soccer balls, lying together on picnic blankets, or taking pictures together. Others were taking “before” videos for prom outfit transitions with their dates and friends or shooting TikTok videos for fun. Some students had even taken off shoes and socks to walk around freely on the football field as they enjoyed one of the last senior events with their friends.
Senior year opened up with Senior Sunrise, thus making Senior Sunset a closing chapter for senior year, Chung said.
“It makes senior year feel so much more special, like there’s something to cherish about it,” Chung said.
Her sophomore and junior year felt very similar to each other, unlike senior year, because it was focused around grades, Homecoming, and Trojan Olympics, Chung said.
“But then coming into senior year, there’s so many senior specific events, and it’s like ‘Wow, we’re really closing this chapter of our lives,’” she said.
Chung knows that even if she tries her best to stay close with individuals she considers close friends now, it is inevitable that distance will grow, she said. Thus, Senior Sunset is like her trying to savor every last moment with her closest high school friends inside and outside of school hours, Chung added.
“It’s beautiful,” senior Hafsah Syed said. “I really like how they (ASB) set it (Senior Sunset) up. I like the view of the sun coming near the mountains.”
The most important part of being at Senior Sunset is spending time with friends before everyone leaves for college and cherishing every moment, Syed said.
As the sun continued to set and more golden light began to filter through onto faces, more students paused on their other games and relaxing to take more photos with the golden lighting and ombre sky.
“I heard about it (Senior Sunset) in my junior year through a couple of senior friends,” senior Kirsten Allen said.
She’s been excited and looking forward to going to Senior Sunset ever since, Allen said.
“I feel sentimental because it’s kind of the last time the class of 2026 is going to be together and I’m going to miss all my friends,” Allen said. “I’m looking forward to spending time with my friends, and I’m looking forward to taking a lot of pictures and going out afterwards.”