After attending Lake Murray Elementary and Chapin schools for thirteen years, my senior year’s finally here. I’ve been waiting for this year since sixth grade so needless to say, I was ecstatic about it finally being here. I quickly realized though, that soon I will not see or talk to any of the people that I’ve been seeing daily for years; and it’s rather intimidating. To think that I am leaving people that I’ve known since I was two years old to meet people that I know nothing about is unbelievable.

In freshman year I was terrified. I knew I was going to get lost, get the hardest teachers possible, and would most likely get picked on by the upper classmen judging from the stories I had heard. I quickly learned though that I could just ask someone in the hall where my class was without them getting an attitude, that my teachers weren’t there to make me miserable, and that upperclassmen weren’t too terrible.

In sophomore year I was confident. I knew the school like the back of my hand and I knew almost everyone here. I knew which hallways were faster to use for which class change and where the best spots were in the lunchroom. At this point I was already dreaming of the day I got to leave home and go to college.

In junior year I was worried. I had always heard that it was the hardest year of high school by far and that I needed to be scared. I was prepared for the worst, but it ended up actually being a fun year. I met a lot of the people that are now my best friends and got to start seriously looking at colleges, which I of course had wanted to do for a while.

In senior year now, I’m stressed. This was the biggest wakeup call I had ever had. I was no longer just looking at colleges, but had to actually apply to see where I would spend the next four years of my life. I needed to ace my classes so I could exempt exams, I needed to get into college, and I needed to make my last year of memories with my best friends that I may see once a year after this. This was definitely a year of juggling between school, sleep, work, and friends that I still haven’t perfected. And warning to all, regardless of how hard you try to fend off senioritis, it comes and it’s a pain to get over; you can ask any senior and they will admit it.

Looking back on everything now, I have actually had a fun high school experience. I’ve had teachers that made learning remotely easy and fun and made amazing friends that could never be replaced in college. People regularly say that they hate school and coming here, but honestly I don’t mind it. How can I complain when I get to socialize and see my friends every day? I’ve realized now that all of my friends really were what got me through all these years; if not for them then I would have been miserable every day. And if not for the teachers I had, then I would never had been inspired to be a teacher and wouldn’t know what I want to do with my life.