30 years from now it won’t matter what shoes you wore, how your hair looked or the jeans you bought. What will matter is what you learned and how you used it.
When I first saw this quote freshman year, haning in my English teacher’s classroom, I just thought to myself: “Jeans aren’t even in fucking dress code.” Now that school is over, there’s a lot more I have to say about it. First of all, I now have the freedom to wear jeans any day of the week. And second, a lot more has changed than my wardrobe.
It’s funny how you can enter a place wondering how you could possibly survive the next four years there, and by the time it’s come to an end, wonder how it passed you by so quickly.
Graduation is in a week. I’m excited to be done with the work, obviously, but I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t miss high school. There are a lot of students and teachers I can’t imagine not seeing on a daily basis anymore. There are a lot of other people who have grown on me by now. There are a lot of people I never even got to know, but I really did love you all. I honestly don’t think there is one single person I won’t miss on some level.
I could list those of you who are especially important to me. I could list inside jokes and other memories. I could list favourite classes, teachers, and events. I could list the people I will miss the most, and I could list silly school rules I’m happy to be able to break now that I’m “free.” But the most important thing I can think of mentioning is how all of this–every single person I’ve encountered in the past four years, every single struggle I’ve faced, and every single achievement I’ve celebrated–has affected my life in some way. I’ve grown a lot and I’ve learned a lot, both inside and outside of the classroom, from students and teachers alike, and I will never forget what you’ve all taught me.
Basically, I’ve changed. And that seems like a really obvious statement, because we’ve all changed, and we are all constantly, continuously changing. But it’s extremely important that we all change–for the better. And it is just as important, as we move on, pursue new goals, meet new people, and try new things, to remember what helped us grow into the people we are today. You’ve all made a difference in my life, and though I know I won’t stay in contact with you all, and I know there are some of you I may not see again, we’ll always have one thing in common that keeps us connected.
Good luck, class of ’07.
At the risk of sounding really lame and cheesy: that was really moving.
Yeah.
You’re totally right in your last paragraph.
Graduation is always a bittersweet moment. The time really does fly.
I know this sounds incredibly cheesy, but whatever, I wish you the best in all your future endeavors.
Being in the UK, we “graduate” at 16 from highschool, and then either go to college for two years or go into full time employment. I personally couldn’t wait to leave high school – I hated it there. But college was another matter – I’d always said how I couldn’t wait to leave and escape the restrictions it imposed, but when I looked at the gates on my way out on the last day, I did actually have to choke a tear back (not like me at all). Now, I’m at University, and the pain of leaving college has subsided, although I will always have some fond memories. I hope you do, too.