High school was definitely not the best of times for me. The only thing that I wanted was for those four years to go by fast. And guess what, they did. Before I knew it, I was heading off to college leaving everything of my little high school behind.

Being able to grow up in such a small community and being able to have the same size class with the same people in it from kindergarten is not what most people are able to do. While there were a few people that moved away and some came in, for the most part, our graduating class had been playing on the playground together on the first day of kindergarten. These were the kids that saw all my awkward phases and I saw all of theirs.

My graduating class of 26 unique individuals was a group of people that I would never trade for the world. They were the ones that helped me with my multiplication tables in elementary, laughed with me during our 7th-grade play, and danced with to "Don't Stop Believing" as we exited the gym one last time. They were there for senior night of volleyball as I cried knowing that this was the last year we would play together. But they were also there in middle school when we were just learning how to play as a team.

Being active in all of the organizations was a must. And keeping all of them separate during meetings was essential. Being on the officer team for multiple organizations is outstanding for most schools. But for us, it was normal. And passing down the office to the class below us was harder than we ever imagined it would be.

We were never able to have friend groups because there was just us. And, yes, there were times that we had to sit down and have a talk because we all hated each other. But this never stopped us from moving forward. Being able to come home and see each other, we all just pick up where we left off.

But most of all, being a part of such a small class has taught us all about community. That its's important to have a place to go back to after we go off into the world. And that these are the people that will always find a way to be in your life. We had a unique experience that not many are able to have. I can not be more thankful for the group of people that I grew up with and I would never trade them for the world.