First, let me start by saying I know how you feel. I know how many emotions are running through your body right now and how hard it is to not stop crying from happiness, sadness and sleep deprivation. You feel so blessed to have been able to experience such an amazing five weeks and meet some of the best students in the state. The friendships you have made are deeper than most of the ones you’ve had for years and you feel lucky to have been able to surround yourself with them for a summer. You are so sad and heartbroken to have to leave these people and that place and you’re not sure what you’re supposed to do anymore. You have to return to the real world and face a place that definitely isn’t quite like your five-week utopia. It feels so surreal that you’re returning back home into your “normal life” that for some reason just doesn’t seem normal and fulfilling anymore.
I know this feeling seems like it’s never going to end. You lie awake at night thinking about all the memories and the friends you made that seem ages and ages away from you. You would do anything to be able to rewind and go back to relive it all the time. The friends you had before Governor's School Program might seem not so great anymore and you reevaluate how you’ve been living and how you want your senior year to go. You want nothing more than for GSP to become a little high school of its own, so you can just go back to living in a dorm and having the time of your life while exploring curiosity and pushing yourself to learn more and learn differently. That environment is one you will always cherish but will probably never experience again.
It’s so easy to sit and mellow in your grief that the summer is over. I know how simple it can be to push your friends and your parents away during this time because they just don’t understand. And honestly, they don’t. But help them to and share the amazing parts of your summer and let them know how much it means to you. You might be scared that you’ll lose those relationships you made at the program because of the distance between you guys, but I promise that bond will never go away. The friendships you made are real. And they will stand the test of time. I am three years out of the program and I still have a group message with my core group of friends. These friendships could lead to college roommates, sorority sisters, and classmates. Stay in contact and continue to build these relationships; distance has nothing on the bond you have with each other.
In this weird transition time, it’s hard not to question your friendships and your hometown school and basically just be unhappy with where you’re at. I get it. But you have another year to go with these people and with that school system and you need to make the most of it. Use the lessons you’ve learned at GSP to push yourself to be a better person and student and take the time to challenge yourself to learn something you’re interested in this year. Think hard, think differently and pursue your dreams. The program might be over, but the friendships and lessons you learned will always be carried with you.
