Well, 12:35 p.m., June 9, officially marked the end of my high school career. Waves of sentimentality washed over me as I walked past the place I'd called home for four years. This sentimentality was promptly stifled, however, as I proceeded to wait in line for half an hour to get a checkout form signed. As I waited in the cramped administration office among dozens of classmates I'd never gotten to know and dusty walls that, after several minutes of being pressed against them, I'd gotten to know too well, I realized that there was lots I'd miss about high school -- but there's a ton I'm not going to miss as well.
We've said our difficult goodbyes, now here are some that are far easier to say:
1. Bathroom Passes
"You had all of break to go to the bathroom."
But, I didn't have to go then!
One wonders who had the brilliant idea to regulate natural bodily functions. Nevertheless, these little slips of paper -- sometimes worth extra credit for extra bonus stress -- make college and its freedom to be human seem oh so sweet. Goodbye, bathroom passes. You shall not be missed.
2. Group Projects
Oh, that sound? Just me screaming as I flashback to every group project that has ever gone wrong. The few group projects that do end in equal work distribution, intact friendships, and a satisfactory product are gems to be treasured because the rest of them don't end up quite so well. Whether you're the one who ends up doing all the work, the one getting bossed around, or the one who got stuck in a group of already great friends -- rejoice -- useless powerpoints are supposedly behind us now.
3. Daily Grade Emails
Oof. Those Schoolloop/Athena/Other-daily-school-email-provider emails amirite. A daily reminder that school exists and is rough! Leaving high school means pretending academic struggles don't exist just got a whole lot easier.
4. Bells
A lovely reminder that our school system was originally set up to train our youth to work in factories! When the final bell rang on senior year, we took our last steps as children to be herded. World of walking freely and managing our own time, here we come.
5. Assigned seating
Sometimes I just want to scoot my chair in, okay? But four years of conformity means that even the seating arrangements in high school had to be controlled. And of course, that has meant spending every first quarter next to the weird kid who happened to have a last name alphabetically close to yours because your teachers couldn't think of a more creative way to place you. End of high school means freedom to exercise your right to sit where you want!
Good bye to you all -- you won't be missed. And now, my fellow soon-to-be-bears, we look to a new year of hellos. I wish you the best of luck.
