Oarsman staff Julia Escobar and Carmen Perez went around the campus asking random students if they would like to be interviewed to share their personal stories. “Humans of Venice High” is a series of photographs and personal histories revealing the hidden emotions of their subjects.

Sreeja Ray (12th grade)

What are your goals in life?
“My goals are to graduate from high school. I haven’t figured out what I want to do in life yet. I am still going through that phase of ‘who you are’ and ‘what do you want to do.’ I want to get into a good college. My goals right now are to pass my classes and make as many memories as possible with my friends because it is really sad that I’m not going to see them once I graduate.”

What has been the happiest moment of your life?
“I don’t have a specific ‘happiest moment of my life.’ I just have little memories; one is being at school with my friends in the lunch area sitting down in our group, that is something I will miss when I leave high school. Yesterday, I was just thinking of how happy I am. My mom just cooked me my favorite dinner, my parents were there and I thought ‘I am really going to miss this.’ It’s like those little moments when you don’t realize until you are near the end.”

What makes you feel sad?
“I am an only child, both of my parents are literally my whole world, I don’t have any siblings or cousins because they’re back in Bangladesh where I am from. I know it is going to be sad for them because I am not going to be there. That makes me really sad. It is funny because my dad told me ‘I will just quit my job and take a good job wherever you are going.’ I think that is really sweet and I really appreciate that, but I want my independence. I am the kind of person that if I feel sad I just kind of flip that, I just feel like ‘Why be sad when you can be happy?’”

What are some of the challenges you are facing right now?
“I am the type of person who is very cliché. I don’t think anything is impossible. If something is hard for me, I just think that I should work on it more and to better myself.”

What advice would you give to students who are not graduating yet?
“My main advice is to join everything: join clubs and get involved. You really get to know new people and there are new experiences. Why wouldn’t you? You are here for such a limited amount of time and you are given all these resources, just use it to your advantage before it’s too late.”