Senior year went by in a flash. It feels like only a couple weeks ago that I stepped foot into McCaskey's tall, red brick building for the first time since the year before. The cracked, cream colored stairs leading up to the doorway, the tall green windows, the lampposts lining the very sidewalk each student walks at some point during their time here. That was it. My last first time walking back into this building for yet another year of high school.
I'm not one to get sentimental; and while I don't think a physical place has ever held any sentimental value to me, the more I think about leaving here, the sadder I get. Who am I leaving behind? What things that I know like the back of my hand will I soon forget? I don't want to dig into this. I can't resurface all the experiences that I have shoved deep into my memories—or maybe I just don't want to. But here I am, typing out the last article I will ever write for McCaskey, uncovering all the emotions and experiences, and, for some reason, feeling happy about it. Here we go.
I think one of the biggest hindrances in high school for most of the students at McCaskey was Covid. I was a freshman when this happened, and while it didn't seem highly important at the time, the effects of the pandemic would last until even now. It taught me that even if I aimed high, I would always shoot low; that if I were to try, no matter how hard I did, I just wouldn't accomplish my goal. I'm currently in the process of unlearning all of it, and it's making me come back stronger than when I went into it— which, if you think about it, makes that whole experience worth it. It makes it seem like… everything happens for a reason.
10th and 11th grade were probably the quickest years of my life, and although they were quick, so much happened in that period of time that it felt like it would never end. Hospital visits, new friends, a rollercoaster of grades. I was in and out of inpatient and outpatient programs, I met my good friends Mae and Wyatt, and I almost failed my AP Lit class.
I'm happy it all happened. I like to believe that it made me who I am today. Most of these experiences heavily influenced my perspective on life, as well. I have new morals. New values. New ideas. I went from thinking that nothing could possibly get worse to nothing could possibly be better. It was for the better— I mean, I know that's sort of obvious but I didn't think things would get to this point. I am so appreciative of my experiences throughout those two years.
Senior year. My last year in high school. In just 3 weeks, it will be the last time I will ever walk these halls. I've done so much work to get where I am, and needless to say, I'm proud of how far I've come. I've realized so many things about myself that I didn't know before. I think I've met more people this year than I did in any other year, and I appreciate all of them; however, there are a few friends I made along the way that I feel really get me. Who I am, who I want to be.
So to finish off this, I want to say thank you.
Thank you Taisha, who stuck with me no matter what throughout the entirety of high school. Thank you Wyatt, who showed me that I don't need to live up to the expectations that were set for me in order to be appreciated. Thank you Mae, who cared to know more about me than I did. Thank you Ana, who taught me to be myself. Thank you Adam, who always knew how to make me smile. Thank you Miguel, Amber, Kenny, Mr. White, and everyone else who came into my life just to enhance it. I appreciate each and every one of you. You've made high school bearable— and I cannot stress that enough.
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