Any of Enloe’s soon-to-be graduates can tell you that senior year is arguably the most influential and confusing period of someone’s life. It’s a crossroads between childhood and adulthood, filled with a whirlwind of past, present, and future. Luckily, that universal mixture of emotions has been documented and dissected in just about every artistic medium, including movies. To help sort things out, we’ve compiled a list of seven films we believe to be essential for high school seniors.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

Rated PG-13

“Life comes at you pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around every once in a while, you could miss it.”

Now even though we here at the Eagle’s Eye would never advocate for truancy, there’s something undeniably inspiring about the titular Ferris’s quest to cut class. More importantly than skipping school, Ferris dedicates the day to making sure his melancholic best friend Cameron has fun. From faking an illness to “borrowing” a Ferrari, he spares no expense in their gleeful romp through Chicago. Everyone can see a bit of themselves in Cameron, but like him, they can also learn something from Ferris.

Dazed and Confused (1993)

Rated R

“You just gotta keep livin’ man. L-I-V-I-N.”

The ‘70s were a weird time, filled with good music, bad haircuts, and an unearthly amount of drugs. But Richard Linklater’s studio debut proves that even 50 years and several generations later, the high school experience remains largely the same. Set on the last day of class in 1976, Dazed and Confused weaves together a myriad of stories into a beautiful, distinctly teenage tapestry. In a way, it’s comforting to see that even back then, high schoolers were just as anxious and nervous as they are now.

Little Women (2019)

Rated PG

“Just because my dreams are different than yours, it doesn’t mean they’re unimportant.”

Is it cheating to include an adaptation of an acclaimed literary classic on this list? Maybe, but Greta Gerwig’s masterful interpretation of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved 19th-century novel is more than good enough to justify its inclusion. Gerwig is unafraid to make changes to the original structure, morphing the story of Meg, Beth, Amy, and Jo into a split timeline that better suits the movie format. Yet her changes only enhance the original story’s message. At its core, Little Women remains a transcendent tale of independence, family, and the struggles of growing up.

Moonlight (2016)

Rated R

“I cry so much, sometimes I feel like imma just turn into drops.”

2017’s Best Picture winner is an unfiltered symphony of the senses. Set across three formative stages of its main character’s life, a combination of masterful direction and acting breathes life into every frame of the movie. The people of Moonlight and their struggles are so natural and real that they simply pop off the screen and occupy one’s mind. The result is a heartbreaking exploration of sexuality and a scathing critique of masculinity that only ever fails at being forgotten.

Lady Bird (2017)

Rated R

“I want to live through something.”

Some people don’t want to relish senior year. In fact, they can’t wait for it to end. Such is the case for Lady Bird, a Sacramento teen with dreams of attending college in New York. But it won’t be easy: impeding her cross-country aspirations are family financial troubles and her argumentative mother. Spread across its titular character’s last year of high school, Lady Bird tracks her treacherous quest to find purpose, and the unexpected places where she finds it.

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Rated R

“In another universe, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you.”

For seniors, with the future at their fingertips and adulthood much closer than they’d like to admit, the possibilities can be overwhelming. What if they make a mistake and inadvertently ruin their life? They don’t want to enter retirement age questioning what went wrong. Unfortunately, this is the case for Evelyn Wang, a broke laundromat owner growing distant from her teenage daughter. But when an extra-dimensional traveler requests her help, she’s given the chance to relive her past and see what could have been.

Back to the Future (1985, 89, 90)

Rated PG

“The future is whatever you make it! So make it a good one.”

As countless movies before and after have proved, it’s hard to predict the future. But that’s what makes the timeless trilogy about a man out of time so endearing. Sure we don’t have hoverboards or electric sneakers, and maybe the DeLorean isn’t the pinnacle of automobile innovation, but that doesn’t really matter. Even an eccentric scientist, an insecure teenager, and their two-door time machine can’t truly influence the future. The only person who can write your destiny is yourself, you just need to grab the wheel.

You’re still here? It’s over. Go home.