I never would have imagined that March 11 would be my last day at school of my junior year.

I never would have imagined that the next time I will walk through the double doors by the student parking lot that I will be a senior; that I will be beginning my final year of high school. 

I will have my last first day, last football game, and last homecoming. I will see my teachers for the last time and will sit in class with the students I have known since kindergarten. 

Although senior year will hold many lasts and final goodbyes, it also calls for many new experiences. Senior sunrise, senior retreat, and senior tile painting may be the small experiences to help create final memories and friendships, but during senior year, much greater beginnings will occur as well.  

Graduation, college application, and college acceptance can change the course of our lives forever. They lead us to our future; they will pave the way for our unknown lives ahead.

While I won’t get to spend my final days as a junior in the welcoming halls, I will now hold so much more appreciation for the ability to learn and gain knowledge amongst my peers. I will cherish every moment of my senior year, for I now know that the moments we long for for so many years can be taken away in an instant. 

As I head into senior year, I will not take any moment for granted. I will remember that when it is taken away from me; I miss the 6:45 wake up calls and the dark drive to school in the morning. I miss seeing my favorite teachers smile at me in the hallways, and I miss the grueling track practices with my best friends after school. Although school can often feel stressful, I will always remember how much I miss the work ethic it instills in me each and every day. Without the structure of a school day, my life seems to be completely different, and I long for the days of my hourly schedule. 

When senior year begins, I hope to create new memories with my life-long friends and the students who have always been around me, even if I have never talked to them before. I aim to attend and participate in every special activity in order to take in my final moments at FHC before the class of 2021 all heads in their own direction and towards their own future. 

As senior year comes upon us, I will remember to always take in every moment, for it can disappear in the blink of an eye.