We all have visions of what our future will look like. Where we’ll be living, what our financial situation will be, what kind of person we’ll become… and life can get frustrating because ultimately we can’t predict what will happen. But this last year, my senior year of high school, has been very unpredictable. When I entered high school as a freshman, I never envisioned my senior year the way it has turned out to be.

The thought of online classes was new and exciting until all of a sudden it was only new, and no longer exciting. While our hearts are broken and we have fully comprehended the idea of all the horrible events of 2020 and 2021, it is important to remind ourselves that this is just a bump in the road. I hope you are all able to look back over the four years of high school we were granted and recognize the personal growth you have made that has landed where you are today.

I breezed through my first semester, submitting college applications. Applying to and deciding on a college kept my mind occupied, and I wasn’t thinking about what I’d be leaving behind when I actually leave. Once I clicked the “accept” button, the stress of the college decision process was finally over and I was relieved. At last, I knew where I was going to college, but the excitement was quickly overshadowed with sadness. Sadness, because high school is over. However, I am simultaneously full of gratitude for my memories.

Some people I want to give a shout out to: Mr. Reeves for making my high school experience memorable. Will FOREVER remember your room and you. Ms. Ramos for teaching me Biology and hosting our club. Mr. Russell & Mr. Graff, for teaching me calculus. Ms. Stiles, for being the sweetest human and teaching me statistics. Ms. Davis, for being so calm and understanding over zoom and teaching me biology. Ms. Beatty, for making my junior year fun and teaching me so many cool things in the lab. My friends, thank you for supporting me and making high school memorable. Thank you to my parents for raising the women I am today and teaching me the ways to become successful.

This is it. It’s all over. I’m turning the chapter in the book of life. James Bowie High School, thank you. I will eternally remember the memories made in those four walls. As I leave my education at Bowie and enter The University of Texas at Austin, I could not feel more blessed to have these four years to shape the person I am today.

The future holds a scary amount of mystery. My journey of adulthood has finally begun. Thank you JBHS.