Surviving High School

Class of 2018. Here we are at the end of our high school career. We have survived all the trials and tribulations that we have had to face over the last four years. This year has been a particularly tough year. We have survived the spotty internet connections, mother nature throwing wind storms at us, and even a breakdown of the school’s utility systems. We have been resilient! The truth is life will continue to throw challenges at us after high school and for the rest of our lives, and somehow we will get through them.

The spotty internet connection started freshman year, and it has followed us throughout all four years. Sometimes I would come into school thinking, ‘I’m going to get a lot of work done today!’ And then didn’t because my computer wasn’t connecting to the internet. On many occasions, there have been countless hours spent refreshing our pages in study hall so at least we can get something accomplished. Then we have days when the internet was not working the right way in class. When it wasn’t loading the pages we needed to be on, preventing us from being able to do our work. I’m not going to lie-it was amazing to have half a class to catch up on what we did over the weekend, or talk about what our friends wanted to do next weekend… The only thing was, when we had a class period to waste it came with extra responsibilities. Like trying to remember to take your Membean quiz when you got home, and then do all the work you might have done in class. But, we got through those situations and now we are getting ready to graduate. Unfortunately, we had other obstacles to overcome.

Some of us had bigger obstacles to tackle when school was closed. These blew into our lives and caused problems. Especially when the wind storm arrived, knocking trees down and cutting out the power. I know my family was out of power for a couple of days and others were out for five business days. I felt especially bad for one of my friends because of her situation. The wind was so powerful that a tree fell down on the power lines making her power go out. The helpful CMP technicians fixed the power lines on her road and her power came back on. But, hours later another tree fell on the power lines just in her driveway, making her power go out again. Because some roads were blocked by trees and storm debris, the careful bus drivers had to find alternate routes to pick kids up. Sometimes the busses couldn’t get to people’s houses, making no school days a necessity. With those no school days we couldn’t ask our teachers for help, making our work even more difficult to complete. Those of us who had the ability to email questions sometimes wouldn’t get answers. If a teacher didn’t have power, they wouldn’t be able to answer. But, we got through that storm and were handed another river to cross.

Do you remember those days off because of the water situation? Those water days were like snow days, but they were even better. It was better because you didn’t have to go outside at 4:30 in the morning and shovel your parents out so they could get to work. Everybody still had power, making days full of Netflix and video games. Making it like a vacation, even though one of your parents was yelling up the stairs saying “No school today” before they left for the day. Students were left wondering if they were going to have school the next day. If they were ever going to get time to work on that English essay they didn’t understand. We got through those situations, and now we are almost at graduation.

We have gotten through the trials and tribulations of high school. We are moving on to the next phase of our lives. There will be more obstacles to face and overcome. Not everyone is going to be able to realize all of their dreams in life, and that’s okay. Life will throw many adversities at us. We must constantly strive to conquer the ones we can, and endure the ones we can’t. Our path is ever forward, and never giving up. You can’t let certain situations define who you are, and what you do.

Photo by dbnunley on Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA