I came into high school with so many expectations, most of all the assumption that I would leave it the same as I arrived. I played volleyball throughout middle school, but I stopped sophomore year. I had never done theater in my life, but I picked it up and made some of the best friends I have now. My friend group as a whole has shifted, and the people I know now have made me a different person than when I started high school. If freshman-Amanda could see me now, she might be a little bit mad that my high school experience didn’t look like the movies, but I couldn’t be more glad.

It’s really, really hard not to hold on to those expectations we create for ourselves. That’s how we set goals, and it’s what we have to look forward to, but no one can predict everything that life holds for us. There was no way to warn me about any of the changes I experienced this year; regardless, I can’t imagine it any other way. While all my classes taught me something, I did more life learning than book learning, especially this year. I’m trying to go into college with that same mindset. There is  quintessential look to the “college experience,” but that probably won’t be what mine looks like in the end. I’m secretly kind of hoping that mine looks more like a weird test doodle than a straight line. I’m going to do my best to keep an open mind,  join weird clubs, and hopefully love what I do.

To anyone coming up on a new year of high school, embrace it! I hated it just as much as you probably do, but the good moments are so good. Love them. To everyone I’m leaving behind, I hope you all do great things. Send me messages. Visit me out on the east coast! I appreciate all the staff who have helped me at Revere, but I want to give Mr. Silvidi a special thank you for tolerating me in class for three years and giving me the confidence I now have in my writing. (I also want to recognize Ms. Gerspacher for dealing with me for four! Je sais que je suis un veritable cauchemar…) I can’t believe it’s all over and that in three months I won’t even be living in Ohio. Thanks for everything you taught me, Revere. See you later!