Beginning of an End
This last Wednesday I began my last year of high school. And walking the halls again after a fantastic three months of freedom brought back a lot of memories, both good and bad. I particularly remember my first day of my freshman year quite vividly. It had been a huge transition for me as it was the first year in which I would be part of a class larger than fifteen students. In fact, my new class had about four hundred students, and believe me, that first day brought with it many culture shocks. Not only did I get lost at least five times in the packed labyrinth that was my new school, I also had the pleasure of sitting through seven periods, each with approximately forty students all of whom felt no need to sit quietly despite several warnings from my many frazzled teachers.
As the day progressed the fifty minute classes began to feel longer and longer, and yet even these never ending classes were far desirable to the terrifying gauntlet that was being a freshman in the crowded school hallways.
I remember getting home on that day and feeling a terrible sinking feeling at the thought of having to repeat that experience almost everyday for the next four years.
And yet, somehow I did it, and here I am three years later ready to accomplish my final year of high school. And it is definitely very different because although I am still one of the shortest people in the halls, and I still must endure 50 minute classes with those students who refuse to quietly and respectfully enjoy a class I am a completely different person.
The triumphs and tribulations I have encountered over the course of my high school career have allowed my to adapt and to grow into a strong, confident person. I feel far more prepared to take on any obstacle that will come my way both in this final year of high school, as well as in my life following school. And despite the fact that I still have very little figured out about what my life will hold following this year, when I see the new freshman walking through the halls with the same timid and scared look I once had I realize just how far I have come since freshman year.