I graduated high school this year in May alongside 300+ other students. I only say 300+ because I honestly did not know a good half of the people in my graduating class, so with that I couldn’t tell you the exact number of students at my graduation. I sat in my chair for a long two hours, looking around to see an unfamiliar face every time I turned my head. I listened to the names of each student coming up to get their diploma and had no idea who that person was. I spent four years of my life with people that I never really tried to get to know, so I didn’t ever really feel bad when I realized there were more people that I didn’t know than I thought I knew.

My freshman year I spent stuck behind my awkward wardrobe of clothes that I tried so hard to make look like they came from Hollister. I was too shy and kept only to my small group of friends. But towards my senior year I just gave up on trying to make new friends because I was too exhausted; at that point I had learned that it’s better to just have a small group of friends anyway. Most of the people in my class that I talked to weren’t ever really friends. They were merely just that: people I talked to. I don’t mean to come off as cold person because I promise I’m not, I’m just more honest about this. If it all came down to it, they would agree with me too. I will wave and come to ask how life is going for you if I run into you at the store or local event, but anything besides that would be the last time we speak until we run into each other again. There were some people that I will be perfectly fine with never seeing again, but I wish the best of luck to them.

As for my teachers that taught me a course of curriculum at some point in my high school career, I would love to say thank you. I never had anything against any of my teachers unless they brought in a mean substitute teacher to fill in while they were sick. I had a lot of respect for my teachers because they put their effort into us, heck they chose the job to teach a different group of high school students every hour. There were some teachers that I could tell were just so worn out of the teaching job, so they would either be really lazy or really rude. I think when it gets to the point when your students can tell that you don’t like your job anymore, it’s really time to move on. As for those teachers, I wish them the best of luck too. It wasn’t fair on us to have the frustration and stress taken out on us, so I hope for those teachers to find a job they will enjoy again.

I wasn’t an AP and Honors student, I wasn’t on any varsity teams, I didn’t mark my name into my high school, and that’s okay. I know my time will come; high school just isn’t for everybody. It’s just one of those things you have to do, like any other errand on a to-do list.

Currently I am taking a gap year to enlist in the Army National Guard. I have plans of attending Georgia Military College for two years and later attend my dream college, University of North Georgia. I’m not yet quite sure what career field I will choose, but I’ll get there. Hopefully college life will be better to me and for me. I wish the best of luck to myself, too.