Throughout my high school experience, I took for granted all of the opportunities that surrounded me. While I stand here, four years later as a senior in high school, I marvel at all of the accomplishments and little things that made my day just a bit better. While I am ecstatic with what my future holds in college and beyond, there are eight things that stand out to me that I will miss the most from my high school experience at Springfield High School.

1. My Friends

Coming from a Catholic elementary/middle school to a public high school was an overwhelming experience for me. While the transition was not easy, I made incredible friends that I was able to relate with and feel even more comfortable with than I thought I would in a completely new environment. While my friends and I will continue to remain in contact beyond high school, I know that we will part our separate ways when August comes. I will miss my friends from high school as I have spent the last four years with them and grew particularly close with them.

2. Having a Daily Schedule

While waking up and being at school by 7:30am was not my favorite part of high school, I will truly miss the daily schedule of waking up at a certain time and being home by a certain time. I will miss having the 7 hour school day from 7:30am-2:30pm Monday through Friday because while it might not be ideal, it was definite and constant in my life.

3. The School Cafeteria

Eating lunch in my school cafeteria varied as my high school experience progressed. As a freshman, I was always stressed out and nervous as to who I was going to eat lunch with. As a sophomore, I had established my group of friends, and I was always excited when lunch came because I could spend time with them. As a junior and a senior, I always looked forward to having lunch with my friends because it was nice to have all of my friends in one place to spend some time together in the middle of our days. I will miss the school cafeteria as it was always a place that I could gather with my friends and have a good laugh during school.

4. Minimal Homework

While I did have a lot of homework (or so I thought while I was here), I know that it will be nothing compared to how much I will have in college. Stressing out over writing assignments, reading assignments, and taking notes was nerve-wracking at the time, but I think that something I will definitely miss will be the simple assignments that will cease to exist in college.

5. School Dances

From frosh, to soph, to snow dance, to junior prom, to senior prom, to post prom, I had the most incredible experiences singing to our favorite songs and spending time together in our fancy dresses and elegant hairstyles. While they were expensive and only lasted a couple hour, I cherish all the memories from my high school dances and I will carry them with me as I enter college. I will truly miss going to school dances with my friends as I move onto college.

6. Working A Part-Time Weekend and/or Summer Job and Feeling Rich

While I am a senior in high school with a part-time job at Rolling Green Golf Club, working a week in the summer makes it feel like I am on top of the world financially. However, once I am in college and thinking about tuition, the $100-$200 I will make in a week will practically equal pennies. I will truly miss the feeling that working a week made me a successful individual with a decent amount of money.

7. Getting Home From School in the Mid Afternoon

I do not know what will be better: night classes or morning classes. Although I like sleeping in, I think I would rather get home and be able to have most of my day left. I am not opposed to having night classes, but I think I would rather not sleep in and get home at a decent time so I can work on homework and get some things done. I will truly miss getting home from school in the mid afternoon on a Monday through Friday basis.

8. Electives That Suited My Personality and Interests

Whether I was taking child development or cooking classes, I always was able to find an elective in high school that fit my interests and helped me decide what I wanted to do with my future. Taking a variety of elective courses allowed me to narrow down my interests and fully understand that I wanted to become an early childhood education teacher. I will truly miss taking electives that suited my personality and interests.