Jasmine’s Journal: A cap and gown

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Jasmine Garza, Editor-in-Chief

As the final days pass before graduation, my cap and gown becomes my daily reminder of how close I am to officially saying goodbye to fourteen years of friends, schoolwork and memories. It is a scary realization to have, that soon everything you have been guided through for twelve years, becomes your own battle to fight.

When you grow up in a small town, the people you go to elementary school with and intermediate school, seem to be the people you share the most memories with. The people who seem to be in every class you are in and the people who also seem to drift away. High school was supposed to be the best four years of my life and in many ways it was. It was a huge change from everything I had been accustomed to. The faces in the classrooms were unfamiliar, the subjects were what I wanted to learn and the diversity I finally saw made me appreciate world. I began to meet people from all different walks of life and it really opened my eyes and made me become more compassionate towards people. All my life I had grown up around the same stories, the same faces and for once I was able to explore the world the way I wanted to see it.

There were multiple times where I believed I could not physically or emotionally take the stress of school and was ready to give up. There were times where
I wanted to walk out of a classroom or stand up to someone. Times where I saw the best in people and times where I saw the worst. I have cried because of something I believed in, and had many moments where I could not help but laugh at the most insane things. I learned a lot about Math, Science, English, and History, but most of all I learned about life. High school was full of emotions but I would not give it up for anything. I experienced life, I got a glimpse of what the real world was like. I learned that people change, people have different perspectives of different things and everyone can teach someone something. You have to hold your tongue at times when you want to yell, and admit you were wrong when words seem scarce.

High school is supposed to be a roller coaster of emotions to prepare you for what really is supposed to happen in life and one of the biggest mistakes you could make would be trying to get out of high school as fast as you can. Time needs to be taken to attend sporting events and artsy events, no matter how much you hate people of sports. You need to push yourself as much as you can to get that good grade, do not give up because you think anything you do will not matter. You will be surprised at the jump in your grades when you start studying an extra thirty minutes.

It is a harsh reality to know that the people you have grown up with are have drifted away and have their own plans to follow, the hard work and hours you have put into your high school have become a piece of paper, and the memories you tried so hard to preserve will eventually fade into slight scenes and words. Grasp onto the moments that take your breath away and cherish them for as long as you can. Before you know it the time will come for you to start filling out applications and ordering your cap and gown. It is a bittersweet moment, but exciting nonetheless.