As soon as I picked up my graduation cap, I walked up the stairs and never looked back.

I actually think you can see me on the video feed as the only person walking away as others take pictures with their friends, and gush about how much they mean to each other.

I didn't really feel any ties to the Cherokee Chiefs, especially considering the fact that I haven't really talked to anyone I went to school with from my graduating class. I have friends who are currently seniors, but I still don't feel the drive to come back to that God forsaken school.

Now a year later, that feeling still hasn't changed, like at all. If anything, I feel an even stronger distaste for the school because I have really made a home for myself at Rowan University.

When I graduated, I was left with nothing but a small part-time job and a diploma. College was more of a dream than anything else at that point. It was tangible, and I would wake up some days feeling as if it was all a dream.

Then it came, and kicked my ass, but ultimately I came out on top. I don't view high school as the best years of my life. Instead, I view them as a painful but necessary stepping stone in order to get to a better life.

I never really felt connected to my high school. I felt connected to most of the people there, which is evident in the fact that I still talk to those people. I just never really felt that "Cherokee Pride"; to me, it was gimmicky. A way for the administration to let us think that they cared for us, but really, we were just one of the 550 kids to graduate each year.

I think what definitely turned me off to Cherokee High School was what they valued. The school really only cared about the football team, which was clear as day looking at the graduation scholarships that were given out.

Each student on the football team received two awards each, receiving almost 250 dollars for their education, while the students who worked in academics received nothing.

I'm not saying that I deserved to receive an award, but I know students who worked night and day while many of the football players slacked off. There should have been an appreciation for what we did.

I don't regret walking out. I can imagine looking back on that moment in the future with my own children. I doubt that I am ever going to miss the school spirit I failed to establish over my high school years.