End of an Era

I feel like I've been avoiding this post. Eight days ago I finally graduated from high school. The whole weekend building up to it was a spectacularly bright spot in an otherwise sub-par senior year. My grandparents, as well as my uncle and aunt (who I hadn't seen for 5 years) came down to watch me walk across the stage, and I was so happy and grateful that they could make it for such a special time in my life. The next few days were filled with family time, some goodbyes, and a pretty awesome trip to Wichita/Hutchinson. But now, it's eight days later; the honeymoon is over in a sense. My moment as a newly-minted graduate isn't as strong as it was last week, and I've settled back into normal life. I think that's kind of why I've avoided posting. Part of me doesn't want that part of my life to be over, but now, as I get all sentimental and look back at the last four years, I'm also so ready for the future. Freshman year: I still remember my first day, right down to what I was wearing. It was so overwhelming, being the new kid in this huge school. There were days where I didn't even want to go to school. But as the weeks passed, I realized that Junction City High School wasn't that big of a school, and that I would make it through just fine. This is a mentality I hope to bring with me as I enter my first year of college; whenever I'm overwhelmed, I will hope to remember that it's an adjustment period for everyone and that I will soon grow accustomed to college life. Freshman year did get better as it went on, filled with many laughs and memories, particularly in my Science class and English class. Sophomore year: Hands down, my best year of high school. Scratch that; my best year of school ever. This was the year I joined the school newspaper staff, where I found my niche at JCHS for my remaining three years. The memories and friendships I made my first year on staff are things I will never forget. I loved going into Room 125 and feeling like that was where I belonged. We went through so much together that first year, both good and bad, but I loved every minute of it. This was also the year I was given the writing assignment that would inspire me to write LOVECHILD, a novel I hope to share with the world sometime in the future. Junior year: This year definitely didn't live up to the high expectations I'd set for it. I returned to the Blue Jay staff as a Managing Editor, only to find our paper without an adviser for the first semester. There were days when I wanted to quit, but I held out because I believed that this paper could rise up from the disaster that it had been inflicted with. While I did enjoy being on staff, it definitely couldn't top the strong bond our staff from the year before had had. A shining spot of this year was my excellent AP Language class, a class that shed light on the kind of writer I hope to be in the future. This was also the year of my first prom, and the year I let one of my best friends go way too easily, a rash decision I regret to this day. Senior year: There was so much drama this year. I returned to the Blue Jay as the Editor-in-Chief, meaning it was my job to keep our wonderfully dysfunctional staff afloat. We had a vast array of characters on staff this year, some I grew to love, some I simply had to tolerate for the sake of being professional. But I was determined for the paper to make a comeback after the rocky year we endured last year, and I think we did just that: This year we published 8 issues, more issues in one year than there had ever been in my previous two years. By the end of the year I was so proud of how far the paper had come, and that I didn't quit like I had planned to junior year. Senior year also brought drama outside of Room 125, drama I am glad to be rid of for good. One of the saving graces about senior year is that you have that end-goal in sight, and you know that once you cross it, you won't ever have to see or hear from most of the people you've been surrounded with. Despite the ups and downs of this year, I feel like it was a year of success in many ways. And now, it's all over. Maybe four years from now I will write another post on this blog, breaking down my four years of college. Whether I do or not, I know, just as I know now coming out of high school, that I will have changed substantially. There will be many challenges and new experiences ahead of me that will shape me into a hopefully better person. I'm both nervous and excited for what lies ahead. I hope to meet some new, cool people during my time in college, people I can share new, amazing memories with. I hope that as I venture into the world as a young adult, I make the right choices and follow my heart in every situation that I'm presented with. An era has ended, and I'm about to embark into a new one. But for now, I just want to enjoy my summer. Until next time...