After prom, the last event the senior class has together before graduation is a luau.

Getting a nice outfit and buying an entire bouquet to use three flowers to put in your hair is a scramble, but totally worth it when I arrive. I see pineapples on the tables, mini golf set up on the lawn, and the most beautiful scenery. My friends and I take too many pictures to count, making sure the sun was hitting us just right. We watch peers perform hula dances and sing songs, which amazes me of the talent they possess.

"Are you Grace?"

I am surprised as a girl I've never spoken to before congratulates me on committing to a college, making me realize that the next chapter in my life in almost in my grasp. I feel sensations of excitement but also a need to take a step back.

"Don't forget where you are right now. Don't let it slip away."

I need to remember the taste of the poke and kalua pork because it will soon be gone. I need tell my friends how beautiful they look tonight and make them believe it. I should tell my friend to slow down on the jello she's already had 5 pieces of, even though seeing her plow through them makes me laugh. I am grateful to have this life.

Being in a place as beautiful as this paradise, spending time with all my friends, and dancing the night away. These are the moments I want to remember forever. Soon, only a few people will be a part of my future, and almost everything will be part of my past.

So for right now, this is all I have. Being here and share the present with those who've shaped me for the past 4 years, that's pretty special.