I had been nostalgic for weeks just looking at old pictures from high school and watching videos from dances or graduation. I was ready to come home for Thanksgiving break to see my friends and family, and even take a visit to my high school. I was looking forward to seeing my old teachers and being back in the building in which I spent four years of my life making the best memories with some of the best people. I knew I would be sad to be back at my high school, but I didn’t know the feeling would affect me greatly.

I got in my car and started to drive to my high school as if I was back in my normal routine. I didn’t have to second guess which way was the fastest, as I already knew the back roads like the back of my hand. Passing through the small towns on my way to my high school brought back all the times I had to make the trips out there early in the morning for school, or at night for rehearsals. As I approached the road that my high school is located on, I started to have that weird butterfly-like feeling in my stomach that was a representation of my excitement to be back. I never thought I would be excited to go to my high school, but being away from it for so long made me realize that part of me wanted to see it and be part of it all again.

I pulled into the parking lot and had to deal with the struggle of finding a parking spot. Who would’ve thought that I still wouldn’t be able to find a place to park just as a visitor? My friend and I walked up to the door and all our emotions came out. The last time we had been in the building was the day of graduation with our whole class, and now we were considered as visiting alumni. It felt so weird having to sign it at my own high school as a guest, and then be given a guest pass to make sure we weren’t mistaken as students. We could’ve sworn we were just at our high school yesterday, sitting in class with friends and familiar teachers, going about our routine that we were used to for four years. We proceeded to go farther into the building to start seeing teachers and friends, and I knew our visit wasn’t going to be a quick one.

The feeling I had while walking through the building was one that can’t fully be described. I was so used to walking through my high school as a student, and I never anticipated what the day would be like that I would come back as a college student. All the classrooms still felt as familiar as they were in high school, and many of my former teachers looked the same as they did when I had them. I think the best part of my visit was that all my teachers were genuinely happy to see me. They were interested in how I was doing and how I was liking college so far, and that made me feel good. That made me realize how great my relationships were with my teachers in high school, and if I hadn’t attended that school then I wouldn’t have felt the same elsewhere. I could never take for granted the teachers I had in high school and how they prepared me for college, since they knew what I would have to expect.

Overall, I didn’t think that visiting my old high school would bring out so many emotions. I'm happy to surrounded by familiarity, but I was upset that I couldn’t have one more year in school with my friends. Because of my sadness in missing my high school, I knew that was an indication that I had made the best decision in choosing to go there. If I didn’t go to my high school, I wouldn’t have made my best friends, bonds with my teachers or have missed it so much that I was itching to go back. Now, I only wish to visit again during winter break just to have the opportunity to step foot back in that building for another time.