As class of 2025 is nearing the end, many seniors become nostalgic and reminisce over the “good times,” but the real question is what are the “good times”? They will look back years from now and reminisce and some may wish they could go back. Others will never look back again and move on with their lives and the class of 2025 will forever be a distant memory to them. However, when I think back on 13 years of school, these are some of the touch-points that have defined me today. 

In elementary school, we were all making slime and forcing our parents to buy us fidget spinners. Most of us girls were obsessed with squishes as well. For me personally I was one of the many victims of the store Justice. Every time my mom took me there I would walk in and head straight for the back where the Beanie Boo’s were displayed. My mom looked for cute, new, overpriced outfits while I looked to see if any new stuffed animals came out. It’s safe to say I was a little too obsessed.

We have all gone through so much over the past few years, and to me it is so weird to sit and think about that there was a time in middle school when our only concern was trying to get away with sleeping during our online classes. I remember hating when teachers wanted our cameras on. To think that there was a time for us where our classrooms were our own bedrooms and our desks were our beds. Some of us spent hours trying to learn new TikTok dances and keeping up with all the latest trends while others were sucked into video games for hours of the day. Quarantine will always be a fever dream for most of us and I think sometimes it doesn’t even feel real. 

For the first ten years of our lives our best friends were only from our elementary schools, but once we got into middle school everything changed. Our friend groups expanded, then we got to high school and they slowly started to fall apart which resulted in more growth. One thing I will say is that when they tell you “you will walk into high school with a group of friends and you might leave with an entirely different one,” it might just happen. A lot of us are in denial of these things but when we stop and look back we might notice we no longer talk to someone. I don’t think this a bad thing, personally,  because we all became friends at such an young age and as we grow and go through our own challenges some of our friendships might not make it through. But three months from now when we are sitting in a chair wearing a cap and gown watching our classmates walk that stage, don’t think about who did you wrong and who didn’t. Be thankful for who is still here. Your 13-year-old self would be so proud and happy to think that we all finally made it, whether we are together or not. So cheer and clap for them because in that moment we should be grateful for the growth all of us have made, because 10 years from now all of this will be a distant memory.