As 2017 comes to a close, students reminisce on the best parts of their year.

2017 was a year of change. Between the football team’s advances and the change of leadership in administration, both students and teachers had an eventful year.

“I am really excited for the changes that Mrs. Brill will bring for this school year and for those that follow,” said sophomore Emma Gray.

Some of students’ best memories happened outside of school.

“My best memory was getting to go to the Florida Georgia Line concert with my brother,” said junior Lauren Leonard. “We met Ryan Hurd, Chris Lane, and ran into Marren Morris backstage.” Leonard and her family are season ticket holders at Jiffy Lube Live.

On Aug. 21, all eyes were turned toward the sky for the solar eclipse. Although it was only partially visible from Kettle Run, students were equally as excited to see it.

“It’s something I’ll never forget,” said senior Gracie Crater. “The sun basically set in the middle of the afternoon. It was totally worth the 16 hour car ride stuck in traffic.”

Junior Grant Colgan traveled to Tennessee with his family to see the eclipse in its totality.

“My best memory of 2017 was seeing the total solar eclipse,” Colgan said.

While students have their best memories, they also have the most memorable things they have done, and they might not be the same thing.

“Summer was the most memorable,” said junior Katie O’Connor. O’Connor and her extended family went on a trip to Africa where they saw giraffes, elephants, and many more.

“The most memorable thing I’ve done this year is setting up a Puerto Rico hurricane relief bake sale and raising lots of funds for affected children down there,” said Leonard. Leonard set the bake sale up through the National Honor Society and spent more than six hours running it.

For junior Anna Cottrell, helping families in need was the highlight of the year.

“Going to work camp was great,” said Cottrell. “But the effect of service and faith on the one hundred plus families we helped [was better].”

While there were plenty of activities students participated in outside of Kettle Run, there were quite a few things that happened at Kettle Run that made 2017 a memorable year.

“Storming the field after the football team beat Liberty was definitely a big thing,” said Leonard. The Liberty game was arguably one of the biggest of the season and the only time students were allowed to storm the field.

For some, annual events were the most fun.

“Homecoming,” said Colgan. “The parade, the game, and the dance.” This was the first year in a long time that Kettle Run has put on a Homecoming Parade. Student Council President, Sara Massei, worked hard in order to pull the parade together, and it ultimately went off without a hitch.

Students are anticipating the good things 2018 will bring.

“I’m looking forward to summer and the trip to Disney,” said Cottrell. Cottrell plays the violin and will be traveling to Disney World with the music department.

“Starting senior year and applying to colleges,” said Colgan, who is ready to finish high school.

2017 had its up and downs, as any year does. In pop culture there were ground-breaking movies released such as “IT” and “Wonder Woman,” the second season of the Netflix original series “Stranger Things” shook the Twitter-sphere, and the release of new music revolutionized genres with break out artists like Khalid, Dua Lipa, and Post Malone.

Though we are turning the page into 2018, the memories and friends made in the past year will not be forgotten.