Senior Story for My Last School Newspaper Article

Here is my story that I wrote for the last issue of our school newspaper. I thought I would add some of my writing in my blog. I'm really proud of this article!

Brooke Eddington
Assistant Editor

This year has just flown by. I had been anticipating being a senior in high school for many years. In junior high and high school I thought being a senior would just be awesome. Now that I have come to the end of the road, being a senior has been pretty awesome but more than just being awesome I have learned some very important lessons and have some advice for next years seniors.

My high school years have not been ideal. I have dealt with some pretty crazy things, things I was sure I would never have to deal with. High school is some of the best and easily the worst three years of your life. You will experience new things and have to make important decisions that will have the power to affect that rest of your life. My friends have been such an important part of my life. They have been with me through everything. When I went through a break up, when I was injured (which happened a lot), when I was dealing with some depression, when I got accepted to college, and when they came to my volleyball games to support me. I will never be able to completely verbally thank my friends enough for the impact they have had in my life, for how much they have meant to me and how much I will miss our crazy nights and days together.

I also learned how to truly be a friend. My friend at the end of her junior year had to go through a life changing process that was not something I saw coming and was hard for me too. I had to learn that being a friend means more than just telling each other who you are crushing on or hanging out that weekend. It’s about being someone who will be there through the good, the bad, and the ugly. When even though you may not understand or agree with their decisions you are there for them through thick and thin and will stand by them when few will. This friend has taught me more about being friend than I think I could have ever learned anywhere else. Now for my advice.

“Senior year is unlike any other. Here are a few things you should know. It won't hit you when you wake up for your last first day of school. It won't hit you as you walk into the Senior locker bay for the first time as an official senior. It won't hit you when you cheer at your last homecoming pep rally and attend your last football game. It won't hit you as you go to your last homecoming dance and realize Prom is way better without the lower classmen and the DJ. It won't hit you as you enter the floor to perform at state for the last time. It won't hit you as you fill out the countless college applications. It won't hit you as you write that generic essay letter that you try to use for all your applications. It won't hit you as your college friends return for Christmas break and give you all their advice. It won't hit you as you celebrate New Year's with the friends you have known since childhood. It won't hit you when you cheer at your last Senior night and cry your eyes out! You won't feel it when you are having the time of your life at your last spring break. You don't realize it during Senior skip day, when everyone, no matter what group you are in, has a picnic. When May finally comes around and you realize that it is your last Prom, but you don't really feel it when you are there having the time of your life. You begin to realize it at Graduation when you look around and realize that you will never see half of these people again. You will begin to see it more over the summer when everyone is getting their roommates, class schedules, and going to orientation. It still hasn't fully hit you when you are sitting in your room packing up the past 18 years of your life, laughing with your best friend about all the stupid stuff you've done. You might feel it the morning you leave for college as that it is the last time you will see your room, your parents, and your best friend for like 3 months. It will finally hit you when you are sitting in your dorm room with a perfect stranger that you have to live with for the next year. Please, Please, PLEASE make every moment of your Senior year count, you only get to do it once. College will be a lot of fun, but in the meantime, jump at every opportunity you get to do anything that you have ever wanted to do. Spend as much time with friends as possible, for it will not be long until you meet new people and inevitably grow apart.”

I found this quote and it has easily become my favorite and sums up how I feel about high school and what you need to remember and hold on to and what to let go of. I took a walk a month ago and I walked to my high school, junior high, and elementary school and I though about all the wonderful memories that I have and will never forget but I can’t wait for graduation next week. I have been dreading everyday that I have had to come to school since the beginning of March.

Finally, I would like to thank my teachers from the bottom of my heart especially some who have influenced my life so much. Van Hadley who taught me to work hard, push myself, and be better walking out of his class than I was entering it and Glenna Lewis who taught me to appreciate literature and convinced me that I wanted to be a writer. Roy High School can be a wonderful place to learn, so take advantage of it.

Next week, I will take my diploma and change my tassel to the other side and I will no longer be a high school student, I will be Brooke Eddington future college freshman. I’m ready to start the next chapter in my life, one full of wonderful challenges and infinite possibilities. Thank you to all of you, and I will forever be a Royal. GO ROY!