Most students towards the end of high school are over it. After all of the dances, football games, and pep rallies most people are laughing about how ready they are to move on. High school has become comfortable for me. My friends, teachers, and classes have all blended together for the last year. I have gotten comfortable with my surroundings, and it’s scary to think about that changing. I have large expectations for the rest of my life. In the next couple of months I will be playing my last softball game, going to my last day of school, graduating high school, and moving out of my house. I am not looking forward to everything changing, and I have thought about it everyday for years. Now that it’s finally here, I am going to share the only words that are keeping me going. Better things are coming.
Moving out of my house to live on a campus with thousands of people I have never met in my life is something that fills my mind every night. I am looking forward to the new scenery, food, and people that the next couple of years will bring, but I am comfortable with where I am now. I wish wholeheartedly that I could freeze time just where I am, but then I remember that four years from now I could be saying the same thing. Leaving home will mean leaving my family, friends, and my cats, but everything inside of me is saying that this is what I need. Of course, I will miss everyone more than I can even imagine, but it’s time to get uncomfortable. My little sister will make this the hardest decision of my life, but I know that she will be there for me until I die. Ella, I promise everyday that I will call and bother you until you get sick of me. I will miss the stupid things you say and the very stupid things that you do everyday. I am scared but excited to be reaching out to new people while also keeping who I already have close to me. I know that the theme of this column is that better things are coming, but nothing will be better than hanging out with my little sister. As for everything else I wrote, better things are coming.
I have played softball for almost as long as I can remember, and while I don’t want to speak much about it, a couple of things need to be said. My senior year season was rough for a variety of different reasons. But, my experience has made the sport a lot easier to walk away from, which was something I was terrified to do for a long time. I hope that everyone walking into high school softball remains confident despite what others may say; and to the freshman teammates I met this year, you are all amazing players and I am proud of everything that you did under the circumstances. I am not sorry to say that I am extremely happy it is over. The next couple of years I plan on playing co-ed softball with my fifty year old uncle and inter-mural with new friends. Being a good athlete was fun, but not something I want to be defined as. Better things are coming.
The Paw Print has made up about 80% of my personality the last three years. There is no doubt that I have devoted most of my time, money, and energy into the class. The Paw Print was always more to me than just a class that I got to spend with my friends and do easy work. The Paw Print is everything I want to do for the rest of my life. I’ve been writing since I was little, and plan on continuing that passion into a career. Coming up with ideas, editing stories, and going to get ‘interviewers’ were my favorite parts of high school. I will still never understand how Victoria Schlue and I spent all of our journalism periods roaming the hallways without ever getting stopped or questioned by staff members. I have made many amazing memories and connections with people that I will never be able to forget about. Majoring in journalism in college, I hope to find the same home there that I did in Tannehill’s classroom. Writing my last Paw Print article is hard, but my Paw Print legacy will live on forever. Because I am not ready to move on, I will continue to make journalism a part of my everyday. Better things are coming.
High school as a whole was something I always wanted to be a perfect experience. It never was. While I did enjoy sports games, prom, and other traditional events it was many other things that made my high school years special. It’s going to end whether I want it to or not. Anyone who is having trouble with the idea of everything changing, the truth is: better things are coming.
