Personal Narrative: Life After In High School

Graduations can be seen as the end of a stage and as a beginning of another. As we look back we can still remember our first day of school. We have grown, become more independent, matured, and learned. We are becoming young adults and have to learn the responsibilities this carries.

When junior year ended last summer, I felt like I knew exactly what was coming my way-- after all, I watched three different groups of my friends go through senior years of their own. It was finally my turn to experience senior year, something it seemed I had known about for years, and I felt like senior year would be easygoing and uneventful. Now, it has taken just a few short months to realize how incorrect I was. If senior year has taught me anything, it is that one never really knows what comes next for them, even if they have a good idea. The monumental highs, as well as the deepest of lows, have kept me on my toes throughout my senior year.

Then came Senior year. The year of our big project, our final prerequisite to graduation. All of these requirements that our class had to meet were just obstacles on our path to our ultimate goal of graduation. We are all here tonight because we never took our eyes off our goal and let them wander on to the obstacles. Sure, we had a lot of things that we had to endure and overcome, but that is all part of high school and it makes each of us even more proud of ourselves and of all that we have accomplished.

Some people fracture a bone in their body; some break the same bone twice. A few rupture a bone from slipping on a rug. I happen to be one of the very few for whom both of these scenarios are true. Between the ages of five and seven, my parents enrolled me in a gymnastics class because I loved to tumble and twirl. I knew how to execute everything a little gymnast aimed for: a cartwheel, a handstand, and splits. I always tested my limits with the dream of getting to the Olympics. So, as any athlete, I practiced outside of the gym. However, a normal practice would turn out to crush my dream of winning the gold. Outside at my aunt's house, my cousins and I decided to practice what we learned in the class that week. I had diligently watched the older kids master a back handspring so I thought that I could tackle the challenge. All I remember is falling backwards, thinking I had stuck the landing. However, lying on the floor, I realized that my arm appeared abnormal and shooting pains came from all angles. I had broken my arm for the first time.

First graduating class has quite a nice ring to it but when I was in middle school I never imagined it would be about me. Senior year has so many different meanings to me but the one that stands out the most is remembrance. So much of my life was spent doing school work for hours on end or talking to my friends on the phone about something trivial. I didn’t ever think to look back on how I impacted those around me or if I was actually living my life instead of just going through the motions. I thought I had so much time left in high school but when the letter in the mail came for senior portraits I knew that my time was up.

Walking into school on the first day of senior year is bitter-sweet, its academically easier, but even when not in school it’s still difficult, having college applications to turn in, jobs, and waiting for graduation. So far, senior year has been fun and eventful, right after junior year ended summer kicked off with the senior bonfire. Senior sunrise was fun, even though the sun didn’t rise and it was freezing, but it was fun because of the people I was with. Balancing academics, school functions, and work is hard, but in the end it’s all worth it because of the memories that are made during this time that’ll make it all worthwhile. There are more activities to come for senior year that involve everyone and graduation is coming up in less than a

Senior year has pegged it’s own challenges. With the ongoing stress of finals my stress level has hit an all time high. For some reason this year has become harder and more cutthroat. I have the added task of officially deciding my future to the extent of what I want to do for the rest of my life. Currently I want to binge watch my favorite show on Netflix in my pajamas by a fire. However, something tells me that would not be the best idea. Senior year has given me a new perspective on life, making me realize that to become an asset to society I need to be involved and up to date on current government and societal issues and events. This being said, I have begun to read up and become aware of the direction this country wants to go in.

My whole life I knew there was something different with me. Compared to my peers, I felt as if I was one step ahead of them in a developmental point of view. The thought process running through my head displayed contrast to others my age, and that left me feeling separated from them. Despite having had those feelings of not fitting in, the constant cycle of being the “mature one” did build my confidence. Whether I knew it or not, it has contributed to where I am now.

Standing on the stage, everyone sitting down to watch below me, shaking but confident, the fear taking over my mind and emotions. 8th grade graduation, biggest day of my life so far, I was going to remember it. I'm watching my fellow 8th grade students getting called up, being recognized by everyone down below. The parents,teachers, and guardians getting up, screaming,applauding us. I'm shaking, hoping to hear my name, but also thinking “How will I be remembered”?

Graduation is an exciting time... both an ending and a beginning filled with warm memories of the past, and immense dreams for the future. Should we reminisce on the past four years, or instead focus on the next stage in this journey called life? We’ve been impatiently waiting for this day for many years, and now, we just want to hit pause. We want to slow it down, and enjoy the last fleeting moments before we graduate. Our lives will be forever altered after we toss our caps into the air.

When I walk across the stage this spring to receive my high school diploma that it will not be the end of my journey, but the beginning. I’ve made several marvelous memories and learned even more difficult lessons, however the most important morals high school taught me was discovering myself and my passions.

To the County High School Class of 2012: As you sit in front of me, I know what most of you are thinking at the moment. There are those who are already pondering about what life without high school will be like; those who are debating whether or not to tell your crush tonight about your whispers of adoration you’ve secretly held for four years; some simply want to get out of that ungodly chair, get that thing that isn’t really a diploma but only tells you when to pick up the thing, and then be the first one on the green bus to the grad party — you know who you are. And the rest, well, the rest aren’t even paying attention, you’re thinking, “Great, here comes one of the valedictorian speakers. Next up: a boring speech straight out of the

Graduation is an exciting time in a person’s life, especially a high school graduation. When I think of family and friends gathering together to celebrate a joyous occasion, I feel I accomplished my strongest goal. It never occurred to me that graduation would be the end of my youth and the start of adulthood. Graduating from high school was an influential event that gave me an altered outlook on my existence. Life before graduation, preparing for graduation day, and commencement day overwhelmed me for reality.

This year, is my last year of highschool. For a very long time I have dreamed of being a senior and finally graduating from high school. I remember when I was a child, I wanted nothing more than to be a big, scary Senior. Now that I am this Senior and the end of the line has come, I am not sure how to feel. I expected to feel ecstatic and amazed as to how far I’ve come. I expected to feel empowered and more of an adult with a plan. Truth is, I don’t feel that way. I have, thankfully, a plan for my future, but I don’t feel like being a senior is as big as a deal as I had made it out to be when I was young. As I grew older, I realized that while getting older is fun, the responsibilities that come with it, are not all fun and games. As a senior, I realized that the real journey will begin once I step onto the college campus. Elementary, middle, and high school, are more like stepping stones for what you will become once the parental controls are turned off. That is why it is important, and what I realized a bit too late, to utilize the time you have now.

• “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment. “ There is a good reason they call these ceremonies commencement exercises. Graduation is not the end; it's the beginning. A year of hard work has resulted in this moment, so join me in welcoming the candidates for graduation together with their parents, as well as the special guests and teaching staff in their processional march……..