Dear Class of 2016,
In the next month or so, you will be walking out of the doors that you walked into every morning for the past four years one last time. What has become a regular routine of walking the same halls, seeing the same people and wearing the same colors will soon become a distant memory. Eventually, you will start to forget the color of the lockers on the walls, you'll forget the name of your tenth grade science teacher, and that comfy school sweater will only be worn around the house on days off. After you receive that diploma on the last day of school, everything that you have grown used to for the past four years will be gone.
After you graduate, there will be no more waking up at 6 a.m. and rushing to your car to beat the school buses. There will be no more conversations in the hallways with your best friends before the morning bell. There will be no more laughing at the lunch table as you eat the school's pizza (which somehow, never tasted like pizza). All of the little things that you took for granted will soon become a thing of the past.
It's around this time that you are finally realizing people aren't lying when they say high school is the fastest four years of your life. Doesn't it feel like just yesterday you were a naïve little freshman walking around the halls with a map of the school? And then you got to your first day of senior year and could not wait to get it over with and fast forward to college. Now, you would do anything to relive the football games, pep rallies, spirit weeks, homecomings, senior trip and prom, and you'll wonder how it all went by so fast.
When you wake up on the morning of your graduation, remember to just stop for a moment and take it all in. This is the day you have been waiting for all year; this day is very bittersweet. This day you will be doing everything you've been doing for the past few years, but for the final time. Make sure to visit all of your favorite teachers and faculty. Take lots (and I mean lots) of pictures with all of your friends. Trust me, you will thank yourself later. Take a walk down the halls one last time as a student and remember all of the memories you made within those walls.
When graduation time hits, you'll find yourself in a sea of caps and gowns. Take a moment to look around you at all of the faces, most of which you will probably never see again. When your name is called to receive your diploma you have been anxiously waiting for, appreciate all of the cheers that come with it. Don't be embarrassed when your mom breaks down into tears (it will happen, trust me), and most importantly, don't forget to say goodbye to everyone you love.
Live up these last few weeks of high school because once they are over you will never have the same experiences again. It's time for us to pass the baton off to the class of 2016. You've gotten through the endless hours of homework, tests, and quizzes, and you've finally made it. Congratulations, 2016!
Sincerely,
The Class of 2015
