This last year has not only been the highlight of my high school experience, but the highlight of my life so far, and it’s a shame that all of this fun has to come to such a sudden stop, but after months of resisting the overwhelmingly quick passage of time, I can now say that I am okay with graduating and moving forward with my life. This realization has been especially hard because I spent the majority of my time in high school longing for the happiness I have felt for the past year, but an entire year of constant happiness was something I would have never thought possible three years ago as a freshman.

I have my incredible friends to thank for my happiness. Thank you for showing me that you don’t have to live in a big, exciting city to have fun. Fun can be picnics at Art Freiler eating 75 cent tacos from Taqueria Maguey. Fun can be swimming in Eagal Lakes after running through sand and dust in 100-degree weather. Fun can be dancing under the stars in our pajamas singing “Dancing Queen” at the top of our lungs. Fun can be stopping on the side of the road to take pictures with cows in the rain. Fun can be attempting to fit way too many people in my tiny bedroom to watch movies until 2 a.m. Thank you for teaching me that it is the people that you are with that make a place enjoyable.

To my friends: I love you all so much. More than I could ever express. I am eternally grateful for all of the memories we have made and for all of those we have yet to make. Our time together is not over just yet, but our time together in high school will soon be coming to a close. Before we know it, many of us will be packing up our belongings and taking one last look at our rooms before closing the door to our adolescence, and while our room will always be there for us to come back to, when we return, we will be changed people.

It’s frightening to think that in a few months I will be living 5 hours away from my family and everything that I have come to love, but at the same time, it is incredibly exciting. I cannot wait to start a new life in Santa Barbara, working to further my education and inching closer to my dream of living in New York City or London.

All excitement aside, right now I am trying hard to enjoy each day as it comes, but sometimes, I can’t help but take a step back to look at where I am, and when I do, everything begins to feel terribly overwhelming and frightening but at other times, my heart fills with bliss and I feel at peace knowing that I have been surrounded by so many kind and loving people. Thank you West High for being my home for the past four years. I know that at first, I resented you, but now, as I get ready to say my goodbyes, I find that it is hard to leave. Growing up is hard, but I now know it is a process that should not be fought, but rather embraced. While I will always keep the memories I have made these past four years close in my heart,  I know that we all must move forward at some point, and right now, my time to do so has come.