This is weird.
I never thought I would be in this situation, but I guess I am now.
I never thought about dropping out or anything, but I just genuinely could not fathom the idea of graduating. 

Nonetheless, I am ready and actually excited to graduate. From everything I’ve heard, being an adult is terrifying and draining. But at this point, it sounds better than waking up at 6 a.m. every day to go to English class. Being able to dictate my own schedule will be a nice change of pace.

The only problem is, I feel kind of underprepared. Anytime someone asks me what my plans for after high school are, all I have are broad strokes: learn how to drive, enjoy my summer and then get a job.

But, what then? That plan will be done by the end of August. As soon as I get hired somewhere, all of my goals will be complete. Every time I try to think about anything further in the future, I get anxious and worry I will end up slugging through life. I want to work to live, not live to work.

Despite all of the madness that will ensue as soon as I grab my diploma and exit that stage, one thing I do know is I will always look back on my high school experience and cherish it. The main reason why this is is because of the several educators who have helped me grow from a scared, introverted private school kid into a confident and extroverted adult. From my sophomore year history teacher, Mr. Bredow, who encouraged me to keep exploring my interests, to my junior year English teacher, Mr. Hollowell, and my senior year government teacher, Mr. Kelly, who both not only were great teachers, but also amazing at giving life advice, I was able to go from absolutely despising school to enjoying the interactions I gained from it.

Finally, to my friends Finn, Jaeda, Kaitlyn, Ki, Greg, Drew, Jox, Noah, Brandi and anyone else who has shown me kindness these last few years, thank you. I cannot express just how much it means to me that you were willing to humor me and show me I deserve more than to be a shadow who watches as others have fun.

If there’s one thing I want to leave behind; if there’s one thing I want to be remembered by, it’s that although it’s true high school will fly by and you should enjoy every second of it, it’s also true life will not end after high school. One day you will have a life you merely dream of right now, and nothing else will matter. You won’t care anymore that you never went to prom, a football game or anything else, so don’t do something just because you don’t want to be left out. You also shouldn’t stress about failing one math test because again, it will be completely irrelevant soon enough. High school is only four years out of the several decades of your life, so don’t be too harsh on yourself.