As I am a year out of my high school, I am afraid to be defined as "living in my glory days." I love my high school. I love my memories of the times I spent there. Even so, I know there are better days to come. Even so, I am very thankful for my hometown school system. I spent eight years of my life in this school system. I walked to middle school. I waited behind buses in the James Clemens parking lot. I grew up here. Thank you, Madison City. Thank you so much.

Dear Madison City Schools,

Thank you for everything. Thank you for offering me loving, caring, intelligent teachers. My love for education was spurted from their warmth. They are passionate about teaching. They wanted me to grow. They wanted me to succeed. Thank you for giving me teachers who supported me, for hiring educators who celebrated my wins, for choosing adults who spent their days preparing me for life.

Thank you for giving me a chance and a place to pursue my passions. You asked what I loved the most, and then you gave me the resources. Thank you for allowing me to be myself and practice the things that are important to me. Thank you for offering me opportunities that I didn't realize that I wanted. Without you, I would not have discovered my love for photography and film or my gift at calculus. The months I spent acting as a prop taught me that one day I could love theater if I had decided to pursue it. The hours spent in Jetspress opened up so many doors to secretary opportunities.

Thank you for the best friends that I made. Thank you for the relationships and the sense of family you gave me when I needed it most. Thank you for giving me people that I can still call from three hours away, for giving me people to miss when I'm at college, for giving me people to still love after I am mad. I found my family in you. We fought, we failed, but at the end of the day we are always there for each other. (And thank you for giving me friends to casually quote in my articles.)

Thank you for the education. You offered me 26 AP courses. You gave me honors options. You acquired passionate teachers who revolved their classes around learning. You told me to step up my game, you told me to read my books, you taught me. My education went much further than the mitochondria. I learned Punnett Squares as well, don't you worry, world.

Thank you for giving me a comfort zone in a school. Not everyone has that. Not everyone feels at home in their school. You gave me teachers to go to when I was sad, classrooms to love, and a place to cry when I felt the need. I cried a lot, especially when I was graduating. I didn't want to leave you. You had become my home. I still think of you as one of my many homes. I'll come back someday.

Thank you for allowing me to be myself while growing up. Thank you for sharing my smiles and tears, for allowing me to document my life, for giving me ample opportunities to get around the Wi-Fi to take Snapchat selfies.

And honestly, thank you for James Clemens. I don't think I could have gone to Bob Jones. #ProudToBeAJet.

Love,

Meg