The sound of our names rumbles through the microphone, and we begin walking up to the stage, each of our faces reflected on the Jumbotron. As the paper signifying our high school completion slides into the fingertips of each graduate, the memories of high school come rushing back. Back to when we first walked through those gym doors on that hot July day.
Where am I going to sit? So many gym bleachers, so many strangers…except for Ms. Woodworth and Ms. Otero, my LINK Crew advisors here at freshman orientation. Man, they act so crazy, making fools of themselves just to make us post-eighth graders feel more comfortable. Everyone has to sign this “Commitment to Graduate” banner, but graduation feels too far away to be a reality. Going to the wrong bathrooms and accidentally walking into a class with 30 pairs of unknown eyes staring at me were the realities of freshman year.
Sophomore year, I felt less unknown, like I was growing into my own skin. I was not a big, bad upperclassman, but I was no longer a foolish freshman. And I knew I was one to be reckoned with when I had 15 Silly Bandz stacked on my wrist. Aside from just-too-cool trends, I remember hearing “stay abstinent” and watching the graphic “Red Asphalt” videos in health class. Towards the end of the year, upperclassmen constantly warned us about how incredibly tough junior year was going to be.
They were not lying. Between KBATs and my chemistry class, the instructional part of school remained demanding. Combine that with balancing a social life (thank you, driver’s license) and prepping for those ACT and SAT exams, and the year was packed. Luckily, school events, the rise of Twitter, and the creation of the Harry Potter Club helped us find equilibrium- although no one got any sleep.
Our time invested in this school has been, say, bittersweet. The bitterness caused by old and new friends going through a revolving door; you keep some, you lose some. The nights spent finishing an essay before the midnight deadline for turnitin.com remains fresh in most of our minds. The positive aspects of high school have comprised of getting to know ourselves, the memorable teachers that have understood us, and the friends that have stuck around. And, of course, the fact that we have been able to traverse the drama-filled A+ certification minefield that is our high school. Graduation has come much sooner than we expected, and a commitment to graduate was exactly what we exhibited to get here. Come May 29, as we sit in chairs on the field, hundreds of pairs of eyes will be gazing upon us in our maroon and navy getups. Nostalgia will be flooding all of our minds as we wait to hear our names proclaimed. We overcame our freshman immaturity. We got past the sophomore drama. We got through the tough junior courses. We are the class of 2013.
