High School Finally Comes to an End, Essay Example

As soon as I walked on the stage with my fellow peers, my stomach fluttered, my hands were sweating profusely and everything in the auditorium suddenly just stopped. It was almost as if someone had pressed ‘pause’ on the remote, and everything around me was perfectly still.  It was finally my graduation day, and I couldn’t stop thinking why I wasn’t the most enthusiastic student sitting on the stage.  Instead, here I was on the verge of tears, with numerous concerned thoughts about my future running through my head. As the spotlights from the stage beamed brightly on me, I soon realized – “this is it.”

Suddenly, I started to reminisce on the last four years of my life.  The years began to flash through my head, like they only happened yesterday.  As I started thinking of early September of my freshmen year, the first day of high school began to replay in my head.  I remembered how scared and nervous I was; yet I was so excited at the same time.  The moment I walked through the doors, I remembered feeling nervous because I heard rumors about bullies around the school and the negative things they would do to underclassmen like myself.  As I wandered around the building trying to find my classes, I remember thinking to myself that I would never be able to find my way around this huge school.  However, as the years went by I managed to find ways to every location throughout the school and was even able to help new underclassmen find their way around.  As the ceremony continued, so did my high school memories.  I replayed every basketball game, homecoming dance, drama club performance and even the nauseating smell of the cafeteria food.  Every afternoon walking into the cafeteria, I would remind myself that one day I would eventually graduate from high school, and get out of here.  Ironically, as the last week of my senior year, I began to fear the day I would actually graduate high school.  I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to react.  But, over the week leading up to graduation, I kept holding inside my emotions at the most unexpected moments.  However, when the day came and I sat nervously I kept reminding myself, that for four years this was the day I had been waiting for.

Above all, on graduation day I realized that this is where my life officially begins. This is the moment where I am in complete control of my life and my decisions. And this is the point where I finish one chapter and I begin to write my very own story.  The problem was, I didn’t know what all this meant.  I was confused in my own emotions, wondering if I should be happy or frightened that this was a new beginning.  However, as I glanced through the auditorium, I noticed the thousands of teachers, parents, friends and underclassmen smiling proudly.  Then, as I noticed my parents, I knew immediately what I should have felt from the beginning.  Every nerve and uncertainty went right out the window because I knew at that moment that I made my family proud.  As I looked at my father with pride knowing he was smiling because his son had graduated, and glancing at my mother as she was in tears scared to let me go, I instantly knew. I knew that I should cherish this moment forever.

From that moment on, it seemed as if the same person that pressed pause had finally pressed ‘play’ again.  Everything suddenly seemed to move once more, and that  moment became real again.  The applause, the smiles, the tears, the boring speeches, the wise words of wisdom, the flashing lights and my entire graduating class representing our school colors – it was all real.  As I tuned back into the speeches, the valedictorian quoted Eleanor Roosevelt, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”  I than realized that this is a moment to remember.  I quickly stopped reminiscing about the past and I started to imagine the possibilities I would encounter.  I understood that I couldn’t take this day for granted because everything seemed absolutely perfect.  Only a fearful human being can take all this for granted, and I realized that I wasn’t that fearful person.  I knew where I wanted my life to go, I knew where I wanted to start it, and I knew that I was ending this segment with dignity, pride and confidence of my future.  I knew I had it inside me to succeed, and I was ready to begin my upcoming accomplishments that very moment.

Though, my years of high school were challenging, the four years of my high school education taught me how to prepare myself for the future.  And as all the caps went soaring through the audience, I just kept thinking repeatedly – “this is it!”  Then without hesitation, I took off my graduation cap and flew it in the air, excited to start the next chapter of my life.  “This is it,” I kept thinking – “This is finally it!”