“You’ll miss school once its over.” This simple sentence is something that almost all of us have heard at least a dozen times; it’s annoying and no one wants to hear it.

Everyone is looking ahead and anxious to leave the place they grew up to move on to their own interesting endeavors. We’re all excited to start work or head off to college and meet new people. We are all very anxious to grow up and not be kids anymore. The hard truth is, we’re leaving soon, some sooner than others, and I don’t think we’ve come to that reality yet.

This school year, I had to move to another school; moving while in your senior year isn’t easy. You have your friends and you want to be with them.

All through high school, my classmates and even myself, at times have said that we hate it here and we wish our schools would be like others.
Having moved away I realized just how incredibly blessed we are to go to Freedom Area High School. Our teachers here are out-of-this-world helpful, they will stay here as late as you need to help you understand whatever it is you need and keep in mind that what they’re doing is a privilege to you because it is not like that everywhere you go. So take advantage while you can. The staff here isn’t like staffs at other schools, and that’s a very good thing. They care a lot more than teachers at other schools and want nothing more than to see you succeed.

Leaving high school is a right of passage, it’s a part of growing up, and it’s undeniably exciting. However, there’s no need to rush it, the time will come, that’s inevitable. This is the time to bask in the glory of having a nice school to pick you up when you fall down and it’s OK to make mistakes, because eventually we’ll have to go out into the real world and fend for ourselves

High school will end, some of us think we are more prepared than others, but no one is actually prepared for leaving the people they have grown up with in the past thirteen years of their life.

As exciting as college and beginning our careers will be for all of us, high school is something that will give you the structure for the future, it helps us form relationships and shape ourselves into the people we decide to be for the future.

For the seniors, this is our last year to make it count and savor the moment, don’t rush it though. As for the underclassmen, read this knowing that the next few years you have here won’t last forever. Make the best of, don’t spend these precious years wishing to leave because you’ll regret it. Get in the spirit, yes, that’s cliché, but its true. Go to school events, join clubs and tryout for sports. You’ll be happy in the long run that you made the memories you did to take with you when you leave here.

High school may only last a short four years, but you will have so many memories within those years to take with you in your journeys outside of these four walls. So, make the best of it and have more good memories than bad, because at the end that’s all you’ll have: memories.