It’s senior year, which translates to the last year of high school for most. Excitement, sadness, anticipation, trust, and even fear run their course through a senior’s mind. Probably because most have spent 22,400 hours or 14 years of public school (including Pre-K and Kindergarten) to come to this very moment when they bypass it and move onto life. Life sounds terrifying, but wonderful at the same time. Not only does that come to mind, but as well as your lasts; your last high school football game, cheering in the stands or playing. The last time to be excited for a new student. The last time to see those same old faces you’ve known your whole life or in my case, two years, walking down the hallway. To run for class president, or to have pep rallies. There are so many lasts and that is kind of…sad.

     Seniors, including me, have only known public school and three months of summer, but now the rest of our lives are just around the bend. Good bye childhood, hello adulthood. Nevertheless, it’s also exciting in so many ways. It’s exciting to know that you can get your own apartment and live with your friends or by yourself. No more being home for curfews or getting grounded. You can adventure the world and see things beyond the confines of our hometown. We even have the chance to get married if we want.

     After high school there are so many opportunities, that it feels adhesively overwhelming at times, but exuberating. In the end it’s hard leaving high school to be completely happy. Questions fuel the fears fires such as: “What if I’m not ready? What if I’m not meant for great things? What if I don’t get into college? What if what they say is true and high school is the best years of my life?” These questions know how to bring    our anticipation, and relentless excitement to a crawl. The what ifs are the real monsters that crack the skies like thunder. In the end, I am the only one who can write down the answer, all of us seniors are able to.

     I know that high school is the smallest portion of our life, but it has helped form us into the people we are today and the people we will be for the rest of our life. Goodbye high school, but in the end thank you.