As the warmth of the air settles in and the rush of people plan their vacations, the little whispers of summer seep into everyone’s minds.

This summer differs from my previous ones, because next year I’ll be enveloped into a completely different environment. Going off to college is like a roller coaster; it’s scary because everything is new, but it’s exciting because it’s the start of a new chapter in my life. Even though I only have to drive about forty-five minutes to an hour to get to the University of Houston, it’s going to be really sad to leave all my memories behind.

These past four years have been a whirlwind of memorable moments with my friends, my family, and my teachers. I will never forget the first day of high school when my older sister had to walk me to my class, because I was so frightened by how large the school was. Coming from The Honor Roll School where my eighth grade class consisted of only 30 students, to Clements where my class consisted of 600 students was a difficult transition. After a few months of learning my way around, I began to get into the groove of things and I started to enjoy high school.

I’m glad that I came to Clements because of all the people that I have met along this journey. With their help, along with my experiences, I have become the person that I am today. If I was standing next to my ninth grade self (which would be crazy because that means that I traveled back in time or she traveled to the future), we would be completely different people. Since then, I have shattered the shell that I hid inside, I have focused some of my time and energy on becoming the best version of myself, and I have learned many life lessons as well as skills along the way.

For instance, back in September I deleted Snapchat and Instagram, because I knew that it was the right thing to do, and these past seven months have been really great without those apps. I have become for focused on figuring out who I really am, and one-way was to expunge the aspects that affected me negatively. I had a light bulb moment where I realized that I didn’t have to do what everyone else did in order to be happy.  These are the moments that truly count in life, because each one of them gives me a new perspective on life.

The start of this new journey will definitely be scary.  Who knows?  Maybe I’ll be so frightened that my sister will take me to class on the first day… again. I know that once I get used to the massive size of the school, I’ll able to relax and find my friends who will last me a lifetime. Although high school was a growing experience for me, I know that I’ll be able to spread my wings and have a bit more freedom in college. I’ll be surrounded by people that are on the same path as me and the thought that I’m one step closer to fulfilling my dreams just brings a smile across my face. It’s crazy to think that in a matter of days, I’ll be walking across the stage in my cap and gown internally yelling, “I DID IT!”