Hello! Sorry I’ve been gone for so long, procrastination has caught up with me and I got really busy.

As you can tell by the title of this post, I’ve been prepping for college. Tomorrow I start the 2-day journey to my dream school, with my great classes, and my soon-to-be-made friends. I’ve spent the past weeks constantly running errands for last-minute items to add to my already obnoxious pile of  “stuff” that will essentially be my life for the next year. Nevertheless, it is as thrilling as it is stressful.

Getting to this point was difficult. First semester of senior year is pretty much a blur to me. Somewhere in that haze I remember filling out the Common App, freaking out about grades, and realizing I had to write a bunch of essays. It was definitely strenuous, but the hard work paid off. Second semester was much easier, but the anxiety of waiting for college acceptances/rejections/waitlists can be terrible. Thankfully, once all that is through, life begins to move quickly.

I of course had senior celebrations, dances, parties, etc. Graduation came out of no where, and I somehow ended up standing at a podium in front of 700 of my peers and theirs families and grandparents and friends, using a metaphor to describe high school. I shook the principal’s hand, celebrated with friends with ice cream from the ever-populated McDonald’s (this only makes sense to those who live in my city), and hung up my red robe.

Summer began, as did softball and work, both multiple times a week. Social events were squeezed in, vacations taken, college orientation occurred, and college shopping ensued. At the time it seemed slow, but as I sit here writing this post on the last night in my hometown of 9 years, it couldn’t have gone by any faster.

“It’s not goodbye, it’s see ya later”s have passed, boxes have appeared, and my class syllabuses have started coming out. Many friends have left, and besides certain exceptions, I’m one of the last to leave.

I’ve finished an incredible part of my life, and now I’m moving on to the next chapter. It’s fresh, it’s new, and it’s full of all kinds of adventures and opportunities. I don’t know where life will end up taking me, but I’m sure I will work hard to get to where I want to be.

I have had unforgettable times in this city with amazing friends, co-workers, and educators. I learned more than I ever imagined I could, and will take that wisdom and those experiences to this next part of my life.

I hope everyone who is reading this finds something they’re passionate about and goes after it. I hope everyone gets opportunities to flourish in a subject they love. I hope everyone becomes someone great.

I will attempt to post more once I develop a routine for school, but I hope this post will suffice for now.

“Never give up, never surrender”- Galaxy Quest

-A