So, I did it. I graduated high school. I am officially a college student! I am excited, happy and ready, but also a little sad.
At first, I wasn’t sure why I was so sad. Then I realized it was because I would be leaving all of the people who made up my life these past four years.
When I started high school, I was hesitant. I was comfortable in middle school. I had my best friends and a 4.0 GPA. I knew in high school things would change, and I was afraid.
But things weren’t at all what I thought. It wasn’t like Mean Girls.
I made friends quickly. By the second week of school, I was eating lunch with people I didn’t know before. I had a daily chat with the people I sat next to in class. I had friends, all of whom were different, but we shared the same fears. Together we overcame those fears because we knew we had each other.
The last day of school, it hit me. I was sitting next to Lauren, looking around at the people taking photos. My friend Nick, who I had been friends with since middle school, sat across the room, camera in hand. It was only then that I realized he was going to school four hours away. Slowly it came to me that everyone was going somewhere else. It would be more than a desk separating us; it would be miles.
I cried. I was sad we weren’t all going to the same school, but I knew in my heart there was a reason for this.
Together we can brave the world of making new friends, brave the world that is college. I know in my heart I won’t forget those friends who can’t be there. I know we will see each other again at Christmas or spring break. We’ll still be the same group from high school, just with a few more interesting stories.
Kirsten Yates wants to change the world, hopefully through writing. She plans to major in chemistry at the University of Evansville. Kirsten won $100 for her article. To read her full story and submit your own entry, visit nextSTEPmag.com/ShoutOut.