The End of Our Journey

To the class of 2020.  We have all been through so much these past 4 years.  Some may have thought that high school was the best 4 years of their lives while others strongly disagree.  I think we can all agree, that we all learned something that has shaped us to be who we are.  Here is a short list about me that I have learned about myself throughout my high school career.  I was never the most outgoing person and has always been a little shy, especially meeting new people or being put into new or difficult situations, when giving a presentation my face turns bright red pretty much every single time with no control, yes I have friends that I have been with for a long time but I don’t define myself as what my friends are I like to be different than them and have my own thoughts and personality.  I know that everyone has a different perspective on the people that surround them.  Maybe some of you don’t think I’m shy, maybe you do.  Now in our lives is not the time to judge.  We still don’t know everything about each other, and the situations we are living in.  After 13 years of being around most of you, I can personally say that I haven’t opened up to you, and haven’t told you much about myself.  Lots of you have probably either heard things about me, or assumed.  This is part of the high school experience, hearing rumors that may or may not be true, and spreading them like wildfire because that’s all the excitement there is in the halls.  Or seeing a fight break out in the middle of the lunch room and not stepping in, but encouraging and recording the fight.  These were all normal things to us, but in the upcoming years, these will all just be memories.  

Now is the time to dwell on the fun times that we share together, like having half days for almost a whole semester our sophomore year. Or the time we finally won homecoming because all of our competition has finally graduated.  Or the times that we all encouraged each other whether it was going to a play, or a sports game, we have tried to be there for each other in the little ways.  Or the time that our senior year was cut short because of COVID-19, yeah that was fun. Even though our year was cut short, we still share great memories with each other that will stay with us forever.  

Looking back at the time when we were all at different schools, I didn’t know that even half of you existed.  My class at Wales Central School was about 15 kids.  Now, the class of 2020 has grown and combined into around 100 kids.  We can all remember our first day of school in third grade when we all meet each other.  I remember getting there and being so nervous about who I was going to meet and what bonds I was going to make.  Everyone seemed to find their best friends that year, and some have been inseparable since.  That year was the year that made the class of 2020 who we are today.  Getting to know each other in third grade was a lot easier than getting to know each other freshman year like the previous classes had done.  

I wish I had taken the time and opportunities to get to know each and every one of you, but 4 years is simply not enough time to do that.  I wish you all the best luck with your future.  To the ones that will move across the country, to the ones who will stay right here, to the ones who know exactly what they want their future to look like, and to the ones who are still very unsure about graduation and their futures, good luck to you all. All we can do now is move forward with confidence, gratitude, and  memories.  To the class of 2020.  Thank you for the experience. 

Photo by clevercupcakes on Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND