Here we finally are, the last day of my senior year. Finally wrapping our heads around the fact that we can almost sleep all day if we please or stay up late and do whatever teenagers do during the late hours of the night. The summer that lies ahead of me has been impatiently anticipated. This being my last summer before my first year of college; I plan to live it up (a.k.a. sleep it up, as much as I can).

These last months of high school I have been reminiscing about the past four years. All these nostalgic memories have me going back to day one of freshman year, the scariest day ever. I was freshly 14, tiny, easily intimidated by the big scary seniors, and already saying “I cannot wait to graduate.” Now, as a big scary senior I’m saying “I cannot wait to graduate, but I CAN wait to be a functioning adult who has responsibilities and has to pay bills.” High school has had it’s highs and lows no doubt, but my friends have always a big part of my life. Freshman, sophomore, and junior year, I had the most difficulty finding out who my friends were, sometimes going through events that actually had me questioning who my real friends were. I know you’ve seen that cheesy picture on Twitter or Facebook that shows all the friends you’ll have from the start of you freshman year. All the friends that I had from my freshman year slowly sifted down to 4 good friends my senior year, and in all reality, that’s okay. Finding friends that you can actually trust and rely on is rare and when you find those type of people you know you need to keep them around.

The biggest lesson that I learned in high school is also the most the most cliché, you really can’t care what people think about you. Living in a town that strives for perfectionism, it’s okay to be imperfect. Those imperfections are what makes us individual. When the focus is on sports, it’s hard to stray away and realized all the talent that this school has in other departments. From freshman year to senior year, I’ve realized what I was worth. Oddly, now I am so thankful for the stupid nicknames given to me, the rumors, and the jokes, because what it taught me was to love myself even more. You can’t be hurt by others opinions of you because the only opinion that matters it your own.