It’s my last year of high school, I am grateful for the memories

What comes to mind when you think of high school?

I’m sure all of us have different answers. For some, high school is a time they look back on with fond memories, while for others, maybe not so much. Regardless, our years as students are an incredibly formative time in all of our lives, shaping who we become in ways we may not notice at the time.

As a senior whose time in high school is slowly coming to an end, I want to take a moment to look back on my last 3 years and reflect on the journey.

Coming into high school, I would like to think that I was your average, run-of-the-mill freshman. Not an overly social kid, I was confident enough to meet new people, but too shy to try and explore new opportunities. When it came to high school, all I wanted was to get good grades and play basketball, everything else came secondary.

As you can guess, that’s not the full story.

I did make the basketball team and I got the grades I wanted, but if you asked me now what has been most memorable about my time in high school, those things wouldn’t come close to being the first things I mention.

When I think of high school, I think of the relationships I’ve built. It’s the classic cliche of “where you start out is not where you’re going to end up.” As easy as it is for one to say that, it becomes truly real when you experience it.

In my freshman year, I remember being assigned a seat next to someone I had never spoken to before. The seating chart just put us together. Three years later, this person has become one of my closest friends. That’s not something I planned. It just happened, the way most of the good things in high school did for me.

So, as I reflect on my time in high school I am filled with gratitude.

High school constantly required me to step outside my comfort zone. Clubs I only joined because a friend dragged me along became things I looked forward to every week. Activities and events I dreaded going to became the ones where my fondest memories were made. And the people I never imagined meeting became the same people I couldn’t live without.

As I count down the months until graduation, I still feel the same anticipation and excitement I had when I first started high school. The difference now is that each day I count down is also a day I won’t get back. The closer graduation gets, the more those feelings of excitement are accompanied by the realization that I am leaving behind a part of my life that made me who I am today.

I came into high school excited to grow up. I’ll be leaving a little more grateful for the time I had before I did.

This is going to be an amazing year!

Pavely is a senior at Jesuit High School. In his free time, he likes to volunteer, read, travel, and play basketball. He is also part of his school’s student government.