High school is officially over, marked by a graduation and a diploma. After four years of lack of sleep, coffee runs, procrastinating, and doodling on papers, my high school career has ended. Thinking about the future makes me sad and scared. This was probably the last time that I am going to see a portion of my class. It is time to face the music and realize that it is time to grow up. Time to realize that everything is going to change from this point forward.
Looking at facebook, I felt strangely upset, then again, I am listening to Graduation by Vitamin C. At this point in time, I realized that a lot of kids are going off to orientation or have already been, that people are moving, working, having graduation parties, et cetera. I myself am going off to orientation in four days and it has not hit me whatsoever.
College is just around the corner. Summer is here and I want to use my time wisely and share it with the ones I love and just have some fun.
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Graduation was so weird. Standing in the back room thinking about how hot it was and thinking about how much I wanted to go into the large air-conditioned cement room with hundreds of other people, people of which I did not know, hundreds of people who were related to the ones surrounding me. Walking down the path, all I could think about was where everybody was and why this process of graduation was taking so long. Seeing familiar faces put a smile on my face and hearing my name beening shouted, I felt a strange twinge of pride, but it is sad thinking that this was the defining moment in my life where I just could not turn back, where from this moment on, I could say I was a high school graduate. Sitting down and listening to the speakers, I could not help but slowly begin to drift off and just stare into the faces of which I have seen so many times. After a dreadfully long wait, they began calling the names of my fellow classmates. Watching each person walk across the state put a strange smile to my face, knowing that we all worked so hard to be there on that stage so that our family, friends, and whoever could see us receive our diplomas. When my name came up, I felt confident. I was to walk across that stage, smile, take the diploma, smile, and then walk off. Hearing the clapping and the cheering just made me smile more. After graduation, a bunch of people gathered outside to say their goodbyes. The weather was perfect, not hot nor cold, not bright, but not dark. Seeing everyone with their families made me strangely giddy. This is how I am going to remember everyone. My last impressions of them all. Billy Baxter holding his little baby brother or cousin. Cara Dawson driving her dad's car. Denise and a group of friends smiling. Vinodh extremely smiley. Rittner standing in the middle of a crowd. Z with his mom speaking Chinese. Kerry's dress. Anisha and Justin with their families. At the time it did not seem so final, but not that I think of it, thats the end. That was the end of a chapter of our lives and we can never relive it or change it. What I have learned in high school is, do things in the moment; I hate regretting all the actions that were left undone and all the words that were left unsaid. Good bye high school; I think I'm ready for a new challenge.
Current Music: Vitamin C - Graduation