Dear High School,

First off, I’d like to thank you for the memories. When I entered as a little freshman, I had no idea what the next four years had in store for me. I soon learned that there would be drama, parties, fights, drunk activities, make-ups, breakups, loads of homework assignments, annoying teachers, and best of all: social media. When I think about high school now, I realize that there was never a dull moment. There was always something to complain about or someone to gossip about because that’s just the high school culture. We spend our four years finding ourselves and being a part of a culture that we have no choice about. Thank you, Hollywood, for showing us that there is a lot of truth in the high school movies.

High school is a place where there is not much verging out of your comfort zone. We all enter the four years where we are categorized by our likes and dislikes. We have the smart kids over there, the athletes over there, the dancers over there, and the actors over there. In fact, it’s considered weird if you don’t “stick to the status quo,” like said in "High School Musical." When you try to verge out of your friend group, people will look at you and wonder “What does he/she think that they’re doing?” Upperclassmen aren’t supposed to hang out with underclassmen and the rules go on. High school is supposed to be a place where we find ourselves, but do we really get the space to do that?

And with all the drama, there are still academics to worry about. I’m pretty sure that my teachers believed that they were the only ones giving out homework. I hated those long nights where I would have to stay up till two or three in the morning trying to complete the three papers and one project that I had all due in one night. Administrators really think that high school isn’t bad enough because they go adding on the IB (international baccalaureate) program which is so much worst than AP. I never want to live in a world where I have to take eight crazy classes all in one semester.

High school, you showed me that some friendships aren’t made to last forever. We expect to graduate and go off to college with our high school best friends at our side but nine out of ten times, this will not be the case. We all finish high school and move off into our new lives and meet new people. Most of us end up moving away from our hometown, anyway. The friendships that we always thought we would have disappear into thin air.

High school is like the middle years that teach us how to grow up before we enter the real world, away from our families. I want to say thank you, high school. I learned a lot over the last four years. I definitely learned how to live life and be myself. I finally graduated, which means that I am finally free. I hope that college years will bring a lot less pettiness and drama and a lot more fun with new friends. It has been real, high school, and I’m not sad to say goodbye.

Sincerely,

Aleiyah Springer