So here we are.

Here we are after four years of craziness. Four years worth of sweat, tears, and grime; of hard work and determination and dashed hopes and crushed (and realized) dreams; of pre-calculus homework and Shakespeare essays and (attempted) chemistry homework. It's been a great run high school, really!

But it's all over now.

Before I leave for college in the fall, there's no way I can simply leave things as they are now. High school, sometimes you weren't my favorite place to be, but at the end of the of the day, you were the best place for me to be. For that, I thank you. And not only that...

I want to praise the most important lesson I've learned, and the most important people I've met on this journey.

The lesson: thank you for teaching me that change is inevitable, that it found its way into our lives not only through class schedules and the dropping and gaining of friends, but in ourselves. It seems as though freshman year was over a decade ago, not just three years, and the woman I've grown into definitely shows it. I started out as a naive, uncertain adolescent whose confidence was more than a little bit forced. But now, while I still have much, much more to learn about the world, I most certainly know who I am, what I'm good at, and what I love--that confidence in myself is forced no longer.

The people: thank you for providing me with people who care. There's no way I could have made it without not just my fellow peers--those beloved classmates of mine who pushed me to be my very best--but my amazing teachers and administration (shout-out to my AMAZING college counselor who let me bother him as much as I wanted!) as well. Orlando Science (the name of my high school) does a great job of selecting their teachers--each of them are hidden geniuses in their own fields, their love for their each subjects quite apparent within moments of meeting each one.

More specifically, I want to thank my favorite English and science teachers respectfully. I don't need to write their names here--they know who they are. To my English teacher, thank you for realizing my true passions before even I did, for guiding me and pushing me along the way even when I didn't believe in myself. I wouldn't be half the writer I am today without you. To my science teacher, thank you for constantly insisting the scientific pursuits upon me, haha. You made me realize that my loves of writing and science really could coexist after all, and I'm proud to be the budding scientific journalist that I am. You two are my ultimate foundations; without you guys, I'd be lost. I love you.

So much to say...but I'll keep it as short, sweet, and to the point as possible. All in all: thank you, high school, for being there. It's been a long and bumpy road to success, fraught with many an exam and college application, but we've made it. You've gotten me this far. And I can't wait to see what success lies ahead. Not just for me, but for everyone.

Take care.

Yours,

Lydia