With the 2016-2017 school year approaching its end, the senior class of 2017 are celebrating their final weeks as Winter Springs bears. Now is the time to look back four years to the year 2013, when this year’s seniors were still young, wide-eyed freshmen, and reminisce.

News

2013 was a year of tumultuous news. In March, Pope Francis, the first Jesuit pope from the Americas, was appointed leader of the Catholic Church following the death of Pope Benedict XVI. Pope Francis has had an eventful last four years as pope, with many conservative Catholics criticizing his quite liberal attitude towards sexual morality, communion for remarried Catholics, and relations with other religions.

Tragedy also struck America when two bombs detonated at the annual Boston Marathon in April 2013. The incident killed three and injured hundreds more.

The day following this tragedy, a manhunt ensued for suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in Watertown, Massachusetts, where a resident discovered him hiding in his boat in his backyard. Tsarnaev was arrested, and in questioning, admitted to affiliation with the radical Islamic state, better known as ISIS.

2013 was also the year of the infamous George Zimmerman trial right down the road from Winter Springs. Zimmerman was accused of the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, and argued in court for his innocence under the “Stand Your Ground” statute. Zimmerman was acquitted of this charge in July of 2013, and this verdict caused controversy across the country, with many stating the trial did not provide justice for Trayvon, who was innocent.

Sports wise, 2013 was a great year for the Baltimore Ravens, where they beat the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in Super Bowl XLVII. Also in football, the Alabama Crimson Tide beat Notre Dame in the National Championship. The Boston Red Sox won over the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, and Louisiville beat out Michigan for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.

Entertainment

In 2013, all the “cool kids” were doing the Harlem Shake and making their own covers of the song Cups made popular by Pitch Perfect. Also that year came the rise of Macklemore and “wearing granddad’s clothes” as number 1 song Thrift Shop became a playlist essential.

Two celebrities went “off the wall” in 2013. For many, it may be difficult to remember the time when Justin Bieber was just a 14-year-old youtube sensation or Miley Cyrus had a double identity as Disney character Hannah Montana. 2013 was the year of celebrity change. Bieber embarked on his world tour as well as making headlines by gaining and subsequently losing a monkey, taking up graffiti, and tweeting semi-nude selfies.

Cyrus fell into a similar pattern, using 2013 as her year to break free of the “Hannah Montana” and making a new signature move for herself–twerking.

Super Bowl XLVII also proved to be a memorable event this year. Halftime performer Beyonce gave a show-stopping performance–literally show-stopping–as the power went out soon following her performance. Early into the third quarter of the game, play between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers was interrupted for 34 minutes due to a 22-minute blackout. Conspirators ran wild with this power outage blaming Beyonce for the blackout.

On July 22, England received its newest edition to the royal family, Prince George. However, he was not the only baby to make headlines in world magazines and tabloids this year. North West, America’s “princess,” was born to parents Kim Kardashian and Kanye West one month earlier and since introduced to the life of social media fame.

School

The 2013-14 school year at Winter Springs proved to have many similarities to that of the current 2016-17 year. Wednesday lunch was an issue even four years ago. Dr. Mickey Reynolds, in her second year as principal of Winter Springs High School, lowered the 60 minute Wednesday lunch to only 45 minutes because of physical altercations occurring on campus during this period which were thought to have arisen due to boredom.

“The location of Winter Springs High School is definitely one of the advantages that seniors have,” said Reynolds at the time of the lunch switch. “There are still plenty of places that students could go and get lunch within 45 minutes with the places right across the road.”

Even now, lunches are still changing. The singular 45 minute lunch was since split into two separate periods, and this year, administration has suggested the elimination senior lunch for the 2017-18 school year.

The 2013-14 school year was a peak year for the WSHS baseball team, ending with a 21-7 season and a win against the Oviedo Lions for the district title. Although this success hasn’t exactly been mimicked this year, our baseball team continues on strong.

The past four years have been a memorable experience for this year’s seniors. Although high school may not be the four “best years of your life,” the class of 2017 will always remember its time spent as a bear.