Gallery • 27 Photos

As usual, joint parking places were common this year. From two Rapunzel spots connecting to one another to form a whole sun to the classic “i’m with stupid” and “i’m with dumber” dynamic duo spots, painting is a great way to be able to connect with your friends. Additionally, many students collaborated on even larger projects this year. The Gotham City skyline is painted across three spots, and directly across from it stands six spots in a row with an elongated neon green brat album theme.  Even if the spots were not directly correlated, friends showed their support for one another by helping out with painting. You can even see handprints of friends in spots that aren’t their own (in 107 and 93 for example).

Painting is also a great way to express yourself artistically. Due to the intellectual pressures of going to Academic Magnet, many students find it hard to express themselves creatively. Of course, there are clubs and after school activities for students to participate in, but this provides a different outlet that is more accessible or interesting to a larger population. Additionally, because it is a tradition, many seniors are more inclined to participate in the project. Having personally attended all three painting sessions, and painting my friends’ spots who couldn’t be there in person, I can confidently say I would do it all over again.

There was a lot of excitement leading up to the painting and helping pick different themes for each spot. In my case, five other friends in addition to myself all did one huge one together, so it didn’t require too much planning. Because of this, we only had to buy five gallons of one specific color and one gallon of another. Although this type of painting was difficult because of the tedious nature of painting six spots in a row, other parking spots were no less difficult. Many were very detailed, with students bringing their fair share of tools to complete it. Meter sticks, paint gallons, tarps, brushes, tape, leaf blowers, and so much more. It really isn’t quite as hard as it sounds though because you get to do it with your friends and make your senior year your own.

Coming up with the idea is probably the hardest part. Funny, cute, original, easy, or whatever else you want your parking spot to be, it might be hard to find something that completely embodies what you’re hoping for. Pinterest might be a good place to look for inspiration if you are an upcoming senior who doesn’t have an idea yet of what you might be interesting. However, I would caution against doing something exactly how you see it, firstly because it is more fun to put a personal spin on it, but secondly because it might be repeated. Zach Bryan has become a huge hit this year, and it is reflected in the parking spots. His song lyric, “how lucky are we,” has become a sort of senior anthem to some, and is displayed in at least three different spots. This aside, the spots all look fantastic and really show off everyone’s unique personality.

This is just a few of the senior parking spots I saw in the parking lot this year – I hope they are all from the class of 24-25 but it is a little bit hard to tell in some cases if they do not have dates. Feel free to let me know if you’d like your spot to be featured in a follow up!!