“I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good ole days, before they’re over,” A sentiment shared by many. Highschool, to some, is just a 13-year barrier before they get to go out in the real world. Or it’s a glorified version of prison where every part of the day is tracked and on a schedule. While both of those takes on school are true, it’s also true that the four years a teenager spends at school shapes them into the person they will be for the rest of their life. In a time where everyone is running out of time before entering the “real world,” and it’s easy for someone to try and create an image for themselves of who they want to be before becoming a “real” adult. While it’s cliche to hear that someone’s past doesn’t define them, I believe the time people spend in high school and the memories they created help shape who they are. 

I know it’s way too early for me to think back on my previous three years and nine months in high school and say that the memories I made will define who I am, but it’s true. With graduation coming near and moving out of my childhood home closing in even faster, I can’t help but think about the impact this school and the people here have had on me. I already do and will reminisce on the memories I made. At the time of writing this I have 110 days left of being a kid. Exactly 110 days left of sleepovers at friends, bonfires until 2 am where my mom calls freaking out about where I am, late-night taco bell runs because it’s the only fast food place open 24 hours, making signs to ask a girl out to prom, going to practice, complaining about school and sitting at the lunch table with some of my closest friends. 110 days exactly until the only life I’ve ever known gets thrown into the wind and I’m forced to grow up and move on. 

It’s already a weird feeling to say out loud that there’s less than half of the school year left. It’s only been four months since my last football game and practice and to be honest, I miss it. I miss getting yelled at by coach for something I didn’t do, I miss the reflection runs we’d have since the season was going down the gutter, I miss the film studies we’d do in the team room, I miss talking to my teammates on the sidelines about anything, but football, I miss walking onto the field and feeling the whole town behind the team, and I miss walking up to the coin toss with my fellow captains. I miss the last first trimester of my high school career and it’s only been two and a half months. I wouldn’t consider myself overly sentimental, but looking back on my high school career so far. I cannot imagine life without St. Francis High School. 

I look toward the future with watery eyes because boys don’t cry. I wait for the bittersweet ending of high school where I’m officially on my own. For the more cynical of readers, they’ll see graduation as the final step between them and a mass printed diploma. For me, graduation is the final curtain call on one of the most impactful years of my life. My final walk as a high school student. I’ll carry every memory I’ve made with me.