As I reached over to turn that horrid beeping noise that jolted me awake, I saw that glistening gown hanging in my closet. I had been waiting for this day since my first day of kindergarten. Staring for a moment, I was given a little trip down memory lane in my mind reminding myself of all 16 schools I’ve attended, in six different towns stretching across two states. When we first moved to Graham County, I didn’t know how long we’d be here. I’d never lived somewhere so far away from everything and we’d never stayed so long anywhere. But, here in this tiny valley, I would be graduating high school with 47 assorted teen parents, former drug addicts, and dropouts, including myself as a dropout.

I flew through most of the day driving to and from home and friend’s houses, trying to make myself look like I was ready for all the doors and futures I could have as soon as I was granted that piece of paper I had worked so hard to obtain for 13 years. As the time for me to put on my black, shiny cap and gown increased, I grew more nervous. My very first day of high school, my former principal told us that the next four years would go by in the blink of an eye. He was right. High school goes by faster than the second you think it won’t. I had failed the same class three times only to finally pass and I survived being bullied about my hair and my parent’s divorce and basically anything they could come up with, to the point of suicide ideation and this day, this moment was the moment everything would change. I slipped on my dress and my heels, adjusted my makeup and hair, and walked with Daniel, my boyfriend, to his car. Watching him put on his cap and gown made me emotional. He had waited two extra years for this moment due to a mistake with his attendance and now it had finally come. He was going to walk across that stage, behind his girlfriend, and receive the ticket out of this town he was born and raised in.

Practicing our walk and every single time we would sit and stand and sit again was exhausting but my nerves had all disappeared and were replaced with an overwhelming sense of pride for what I was doing. As people started filing into the auditorium, we had one more little chance to make sure we all looked stunning. Looking around in that split second, I was reminded of every trial my peers had to experience. Some were parents at 15 and 16, some were recovering drug addicts, and some were just finishing early for college, or for other reasons. I will never forget any of those kids. As we walked, one by one, into our rows, the people all standing for us as we passed and all the smiles and pictures being taken, made me search for my mom. She had been with me, my entire life and was moments away from seeing her first baby finish high school. She was so happy. And so were my siblings. I was their role model and for once, I didn't regret what I was doing.

Sitting down and listening to a friend talk about how hard graduating while being a full time mom was made me tear up. She lived every day for her little boy and one day, I hope to have that too. As she returned to her seat, they started the senior slide show with baby pictures of each of us next to pictures of us now. Daniel’s made me cry. Seeing him so happy made me remember how much I loved him.

As the slide show ended, we were motioned to stand and walk to the stairs of the stage. When our principal called my name, everyone cheered. Walking to the predetermined spot, I tried glancing out into the audience. Disappointed that all I could see was the reflection of my eyes in my glasses, I tried to focus on what she was saying about me. She told everyone about how hard I had worked and how amazing I was. A member of the district board came up to me and shook my hand, gave me my diploma case, and turned for a picture with me for the newspaper. Walking down those stairs with that little black case, towards my teachers who one by one, hugged me and told me how proud they were, made the floodgates open. Trying to see Daniel walk was challenging through the water works but I managed. His smile made everything he worked for worth it. He had survived 15 years of school, bullying about his weight, and watching his original class of 2014, graduate without him. He just couldn’t stop smiling and I couldn’t stop either. Siting through the next half hour of names being called was kind of weird. I didn’t know all of those kids but the ones I did, made me so proud. My stomach leapt out of my chest when our principal finally asked us all to stand and instructed us to turn our tassel from the right to the left side of our caps. As she spoke the words,

“I would like to introduce the Mt. Graham graduating class of 2016”, time seemed to slow. We turned and walked the way we came.

That night will never be erased from my memory. I will never forget what I wore or what was said and I will certainly never forget the 46 other people who walked along side me. The day I enrolled at that alternative high school my junior year, I was told by my father and a few others, that I would never amount to anything for going there. They said that dropouts, teen parents, and drug addicts would never be anything other than dropouts, teen parents, and drug addicts. I will never forget the look on everyone’s face the night I proved to naysayers that I would amount to something and that school made it possible.

You see, high school has a way of sticking to you, your whole life. At your 10 year high school reunion, people won't remember who you are now, they'll remember the kid they went through either the best or worst days of their lives with. But you can become anything. You can take every bad or good thing people said about you and use that to fuel your future. I can tell you right now with confidence that I would not have graduated if I hadn't been bullied or been told I couldn't amount to anything. I stood on that stage and stared right back into my own eyes because I was proving to every single member of the audience that I could do it, that I could graduate high school and become a business owner or a solider or a doctor, and nothing on this earth could stop me from achieving that piece of paper. I will never forget how proud I am of getting this far. I will never forget that day in May when I graduated from Mt. Graham High School, even though I was told constantly that attending a school like that would give me less of a chance than anyone else. So go out and prove to everyone who has ever made you feel less than you are. Go achieve your dreams because nothing can stand in your way when you believe in yourself.