Now That We Have Reached The End

It has been an honor to be one of your classmates. It went so much faster than I could have ever imagined. I was told so many times that this was going to fly by. I believed it would but it was so much faster than I thought. Due to unfortunate circumstances, I have not been able to fully participate in school as one would expect to. Since our sophomore year, I have had to work full time and fend for myself due to the absence of both of my parents. But because I was not in school a whole lot, and because I got to see how the world really treats people, at a young age I came to appreciate the time that I did spend in school, more than other people would. For me, school was a symbol of happiness and it was a retreat. I came to appreciate school as a blessing rather than a chore. I was thrown right into the deep end and I have been working every day just to make sure that I can feed myself and pay my bills, so going to school and sitting in a classroom, just making sure I was learning and being surrounded by my peers that I have grown up with was a very nice break and it made me so happy. I would rather be in school than anywhere else if I could be, ironic right? 

Our teachers and other staff have been extremely supportive of me. They always made sure that I had what I needed while at the same time, supporting me for wanting to work and take care of myself. All of my peers, even those of you that I am not necessarily friends with, were also very supportive. Every one of my classmates were extremely supportive when my dad passed away and continues to be to this day. A lot of people treated me like I was their own family. 

Now that we are nearing the end and we will all follow our own paths now, I feel slight sorrow for not fighting to be in school more, but my mind was more focused on being successful in taking care of myself. Looking back at it, I wish that I accepted help more often. I guess you could say that I showed hubris, because I was extremely prideful. I was proud to take care of myself but I now know I should have accepted more of the help that was offered to me. Still though, I do not regret the choices I made. I think that I played the cards I was dealt very well considering that I had and still have very little life experience. One thing that I have learned is that you need to appreciate what you have in the moment. Do not take anything for granted because one day you could have it, and the next it could be taken away from you. Nothing lasts forever and you will not always be comfortable. That lesson is dark, but it is a truth that I know all too well. But, because I learned that lesson, I gained the ability to treasure and appreciate things while I have them, such as the little amount of time that I could spend in school. 

Treasure every moment, accept help when it is offered and make sure that you turn around and pay it forward. I remember every little kind deed from both the students and staff and you have no idea how much that means to me. Thank you all for your patience and understanding. Thank you all for helping me succeed. Thank you all for being a friend. I hope to see all of you guys live long and happy lives and I hope to see you again. I wish you the best of luck. 

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“Thank You” by Terry Bain is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.Copy text