Possibly, the hardest part of being a high school graduate is leaving home. For the six students in this article, home is the Park Cities and Preston Hollow. These students have spent the better part of their lives following the same routines: their schools’ carpool lines, sports competitions, school dances, and Friday night stadiums. And now, almost all at once, that familiarity comes to a close.
Student journalism leaders from The Episcopal School of Dallas and Highland Park High School sat down with the six graduating seniors, from various schools in the Dallas area, to talk about leaving home and the meaning of starting a new chapter. What emerged was something honest and unexpected: a glimpse of a generation on the edge of departure, shaped by their community, ready to step beyond it.
What follows are excerpts from the roundtable conversation.
What does home mean to you?
Bauer
I think your true home is being with who you like, your friends, all that, being able to feel comfortable around them. It’s more of a true home than anything else.
Hutch
I’ve lived in Dallas my entire life, so I know the streets, I know the stores, I know the restaurants, I know all of that. And I would consider that part of home as little, tiny things that bring memories to me.
Sarah
Home is the environment or space that gives you the best people to grow into the best version of yourself with the values that have shaped you into who you are. I feel like home transcends the place where you grew up.
What does leaving home mean to you?
Bauer
I think one of the reasons why I’m leaving is just because I want to meet new people from different places, not just the same 20 guys I’ve been with for the last 15 years. I want to go out and talk to new people and meet new people from different backgrounds.
Adam
It’s a hard transition to make, but realizing that the transition is possible to make is reassuring because it helps you grow, right? It’ll help you grow as a person. That’s one of the reasons why I’m encouraged to leave home and make this change.
Biviyana
Leaving home is finding myself, truly finding myself in a space I’m not used to. I feel like that just opens so many different worlds, different perspectives, opens up different understandings about people.
Are you fundamentally the same person as you were in first grade, or have you morphed into a different person?
Kate
I moved around a lot when I was younger but always having that stability of a strong family connection really helped me remain the same fundamental person. When I was younger, I was very shy, and I’ve definitely come out of my shell. I was very nerdy and bookish, and now I write for a newspaper and write poetry, so I think fundamentally I am the same person. I’ve just grown like everyone else does.
Sarah
The word that stuck out to me was ‘fundamentally.’ My interests have changed, the friendships, where I go to school, tons of things. But the values and the framework of my family and of myself have stayed the same.
Biviyana
For me, I feel like I have changed. My family had strong values, but as I grew up, social media, different perspectives, moving around, I have different values that I pick and choose from what I grew up with.
What is one lesson that high school taught you that you’ll take with you?
Sarah
Do things that are rooted in purpose that fulfill me and bring me joy in my life. For me, it’s to be selfless and really support the people around me.
Bauer
I would say talk to as many people as you can talk to — the person in your class that maybe you were a little closed off to because, I don’t know, maybe you have a different opinion than them. But when you talk to them, you realize that you have a lot more shared interests and commonalities than you would have thought.
Hutch
I would say one thing high school taught me was the courage to trust in others. You have to rely on others, so you have to trust them and their capabilities, and you have to prove that you are worth supporting.
Do you have a personal mission statement?
Adam
There were two concepts that were introduced to me, one being the Golden Rule — treat others how you would like to be treated. The other is to not use others as a means to an end but treat them as an end (in themselves).
Hutch
For as long as I can remember, every day before I’ve gone off to school, my dad would tell me: work hard, be nice, have fun. I don’t think he skipped a day since elementary school, middle school, high school. Holding that to my heart helps me get through the day.
Biviyana
Mine is ‘you do you.’ It’s not embarrassing unless you think it’s embarrassing. You can’t be put down unless you put yourself down. Same thing about leaving home, if you’re going to study abroad, if you’re staying in Texas, do whatever’s best for you. I think there’s this word called “sonder,” the idea that every single passerby has a completely different life that you have no idea about.
Kate
Choose kind. Kindness encapsulates a lot of different important values in life. Kindness is respect; kindness is compassion; kindness is empathy. Whatever situation you’re in, leading with kindness will always benefit you and the people around you. Being kind never really costs you anything, and it can really mean a lot to someone.
What are you most excited about when it comes to leaving for college?
Hutch
I’m excited to go out there, learn as much as I can, and meet as many new people as I can. I know I’ll change a lot, but I feel like that’s not something to necessarily be afraid of.
Adam
I’m excited to meet new people who have different ideas and perspectives that I can learn from and grow from.
Kate
I’m really excited about trying new things and also having the time to explore those new things.
What is one thing that you are nervous about?
Sarah
I’m nervous about being able to keep all my relationships that I have now as strong as they are.
Bauer
It’s going to be weird not being able to walk downstairs when I’m heading to school and say bye to my mom and dad. (Not to) be able to say bye to my dogs. I’m excited for it, still, of course, nervous for that big change.
Biviyana
I’m really nervous about leaving people behind.
Adam
I anticipate losing some friendships and connections. That’s scary for me because I’ve been around a lot of these guys for so long.
Kate
I’m afraid of failure. In my life, I tend to do the things that I know I’ll be the most successful at. I feel like in college, it’s a little scary trying to venture out and try new things and knowing that I probably will fail at something — but just know that that’s okay.
Hutch
I am nervous of not having the connections that I’ve had all my life here.
This roundtable conversation was moderated by Highland Park High School’s 2025 – 2026 Editor-in-Chief of the Bagpipe newspaper Olivia-Sophie Keijsers Koning and Modern Media student Liliana Rodriguez and The Episcopal School of Dallas 2026 – 2027 Eagle Edition newspaper Editors-in-Chief Gracie Nealon and Lilly Traylor. The original discussion has been edited for length and clarity.
Illustrations by ESD Eagle Edition 2026 – 2027 web Co-Editor-in-Chief Josephine Holmes.
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