Goodbye Forever Oak Hill

Dear Class of 2023,

Thank you everyone for coming to the graduation of the 2023 seniors of Oak Hill High School. Some of us have been waiting so patiently for today and others have not. Personally, I’ve been waiting for this day for 13 years. Waiting for the day that I finally get to go off on my own and start a new chapter in my life. Waiting for the day I can finally throw that cap up in the air and congratulate myself on working hard everyday to get here. Today we are all here to celebrate our journeys as a whole. 

In the 8th grade I dreamed of being in high school. I thought high school would be much better than middle or elementary school. I was wrong. I started out high school as a freshman looking at my schedule puzzled because I had no idea where I was going. As the seniors went by telling me that these four years would go by so fast, I didn’t believe them. Then we were sent home with our laptops when COVID hit and we never knew if we would end up back at school. 

Sophomore year we were adjusting to our cohorts. Everyone had a mask on and we had to stay 6 feet away from each other at all times. I would go to my first period class and nothing was the same. There was a weird uncomfortable feeling in every room due to the silence in the classrooms. Lunch was no different; there was barely any commotion in the lunchroom. At this point in our lives we didn’t know whether this was our life for the rest of high school. 

Junior year we were finally back at school after COVID had finally begun to die down. We still had to wear masks and stay 6 feet away from one another. This felt more normal though. People were finally talking to each other and the classrooms weren’t silent. Halfway through the year the mandate was dropped and we finally did not have to wear a mask. We had learned that Junior year is the hardest year in our classes. Schedules were full with not one study hall in sight. But we learned a lot those years both inside and outside of the classroom. All the books we read, essays we wrote, the late nights studying because you had a test at 7:30 am. All of the delightful and dreadful experiences that we have gone through these 13 years have brought us to where we are today. 

One thing we all can agree on is that we did not make it here all by ourselves. We had help from our parents, teachers, friends that have shaped us into the people we are today. We should show the most gratitude to them for all they did for us these past 4 years. I have learned so much in these past 4 years. I learned that when you believe in yourself you can achieve anything. I learned to not care about what others say about you because at the end of the day it does not matter.

I wish every single one of you success and happiness in your futures and reach for the stars. Always try new things because you never know how it could go. Always believe in yourself because you can achieve anything you put your mind to. Congratulations to the class of 2023!

“graduation” by Sean MacEntee is licensed under CC BY 2.0.