With only days left until graduation, I am feeling a rush of emotions. Until now, I wanted nothing more than to get out of this school and finally have my freedom. But now because of the little time I have left, I am feeling nostalgic about all the different experiences and memories that I have made in high school. Thinking back on it now, all of these little meaningful moments made my high school career that much better.

I remember walking into Clements for the first time as a freshman. I was nervous and excited just as all the other freshman were. I was entering a much bigger school with many more students and teachers. I was surrounded by unfamiliar faces, desperately trying to recognize someone I knew. Everybody seemed so much bigger and older than I was, and I felt completely lost. 

Four years later and I know this school like the back of my hand. Freshman year was a bit of a struggle for me as I tried to get adjusted the difficulty level of high school classes as well as finding my way around the school. After some time, I was accustomed to my new courses and as time went on, everything became less and less intimidating.

I remember as I entered junior year, I dreaded going into what I had heard was the hardest year of high school. I was preparing to take the SAT and ACT for college and  the thought of this gave me panic attacks. Now, that I have been accepted into a college, I am glad that I spent those long hours studying for these exams. Although I put a lot of effort into my school life, and was sleep deprived most of the time, these experiences lead me to some of my closest friends. These friends have helped grow into the person I am today and they have been there for me whenever I was having a bad day, when I was stressed, or when had pulled an all nighter for my WHAP test.

Now that I will be graduating in less than a month, my friends and I will all part ways and follow different paths. However, I have every intention of keeping in touch with these people. My friends know me better than I know myself, and I plan on sharing my future experiences with them as well. As my high school career comes to a close, thinking back on the last four years of my life is bittersweet as I start to realize that I may never see some of my classmates ever again. So, on that note, I would just like to say one final goodbye.