Sarah Piragis is a Spanish teacher at Leominster High School teaching all ages including many seniors.We asked her to take a look back to when she was a high school senior for our ongoing series “When I Was 17.”

At seventeen years old, she attended Mahar Regional High School. She remembers it like it was yesterday, and she graduated in 1998. Piragis enjoyed hanging out with her friend group which was small at first, but expanded senior year when she got a boyfriend and was introduced to all his friends, making her friend group grow large.

She also liked going to the mall with her friends and doing “typical teenage activities.

She also crafted a lot, which she still does today, keeping her classwork organized and creative.

Although she had a lot of fun outside of school, it did not take away from her schoolwork. Piragis got high grades and enjoyed her teachers. She considered herself a “nerd.”

Through the school work and a busy social life, she also balanced bussing tables at a restaurant part-time.

What most people do not know is Piragis was a cheerleader. She says the reason people don’t know that is because “it’s not my personality. I have nothing against it, it’s just not what people would think.” Since she was a cheerleader she attended all the after-school games and her school was known for football, basketball, and track.

Mahar did not have school spirit like Leominster High does she said. It has spirit, just not as intense.

When asked how her high school experience compares to what she sees today in Leominster, she said, “In some ways it’s different and in some ways it’s exactly the same; the drama’s the same.”

The social media was different. They didn’t have social media — instead they passed notes and if they needed to talk about gossip they would wait until after school to call a friend. Compared to today this is very different because everything’s broadcast everywhere at every second.

There were no instant messages when Piragis went to school. Lastly there was no Juul problem like there is today in Leominster.

The fashion worn back then was also different from LHS. Some common clothes worn by Piragis included waffle tees with flannels, flair jeans, tight polyester black pants, and chunky heels. Piragis shakes her head at the fashion she and others used to wear. Something that stayed the same for Sara is her hairstyle.

Looking back at it, Piragis was a good student with a good group of friends. High school was a good time for her, but teaching now is just as good.