Finally

I am a senior now. Those are five short words, yet they hold so much meaning within them. When you're in elementary and middle school you never really think about graduation that much; it's too far in the future and at that point your mind just isn't on something that's years away from happening.  Then, you actually enter high school.  Freshman year goes by pretty easily; there's a few changes from middle school to high school life but nothing that major.  Graduation still seems like a lifetime away and it's really not at the front of your mind.  As sophomore year gets underway, more work is being piled on you.  You have tougher classes and a few more tests.  Between the PSAT, the Writing Test, and various other EOCs, you're stressed enough without thinking about the life-changing milestone that lies in wait for you in only a couple of years.  Junior year brings with it a variety of new experiences: the SAT, prom, getting your class ring, and actually thinking about where you might want to go to school.  You feel a sense of panic start bubbling up, but you can easily repress it.  Summer vacation isn't that far away and you can relax and let your mind wander where it may.  Then, you get the notice in the mail. Senior pictures. As you're taking your drape picture, the reality actually begins to sink in. I'm graduating this year; there will be no more rushed conversations in the hallways, no scramble to get everyone to sign your yearbook in the last few weeks of school, no debate about where to sit for lunch. All of these things that seem so crucial right now will soon become bittersweet memories. Suddenly, you realize I'm about to leave behind everything I've ever known and venture out into the real world. I'm about to take a path that many others have walked, yet it is brand-new to me. The thought is so scary. It's been there before you now for four years. You've watched older brothers, sisters, cousins and friends walk across that stage and receive that sheet of paper that has the power to end one part of their lives and open up the door for something brand-new. You've known this day was coming, yet you shut your eyes to it. Every beginning has an end; and this end will be particularly bittersweet. You are no longer a child, you are now an adult. You will go out into the world and become the person you were mean to be. Are you ready?