It seems like just yesterday I was moving my clothes pin down to the yellow section on my kindergarten teacher’s behavior chart after getting in trouble for talking too much. And now here I am applying to colleges and going to work after school, spending my leisure time stressing over what my life is and who I am.
Being a senior in high school is a really weird and bipolar experience.
I’ve been asked a few different questions by a few different people like, “Will you cry on the last day of school?” or “Are you ready to be an adult?” or even “Do you feel old?” and of course “Are you worried about your future?”
To be honest, I am very ready to be an adult and be done with grade school forever. However, this doesn’t mean I’m not scared because to be quite frank, I’m terrified. A lot of seniors, including myself, worry that we aren’t ready, that we haven’t done enough.
Despite still feeling like a kid, all of the horrifying realities of growing up are hitting. I don’t know who I am, and I can’t help but feel like I should.
I’ve been through so much during high school, and now I’m in the final stretch of it all. This is something that is very difficult to grasp. It’s possible that I’m not ready, but what does being ready to grow up and graduate even look like?
I can be ready on paper, have a job, have enough credits, and be enrolled in college, but how do I know what being prepared as a person looks like? I was taught a lot about life as a kid, but it’s been impossible for anyone to tell me who I am supposed to be or how I am supposed to feel.
There is a sense of independence that we all have to face. There are no more colorful loops to grasp onto and keep us all in a single file line. As high school comes to an end, we have to accept the fact that we are responsible for our futures, and every single decision that we make can change the course of our lives.
At the end of the day, besides the worries, it’s important to reflect on how far we’ve come. Our last year of grade school is almost over. It’s been hard, but we’ve been persistent. As we reach the final stretch of the year, it’s vital for us seniors to prepare ourselves mentally for the real world. It’s truly crazy how fast time flies.
