When I walked into this school as a timid freshman it seemed so big and so vast. I was a little fish dropped into what was- at the time- a very large pond. Everything I did was my first time doing it. This list included homecoming, final exams, football games, spirit week, all-nighters, etc. The time when doing these things for the last time seemed so far off.

Fast forward 3 years and several mental breakdowns later, and I have arrived at my “last leg of the race”. An epiphany struck me as I was standing in the front row of the bleachers at the homecoming game. “This is one of the last times I will be standing side by side with all of those people. Sooner or later acceptance letters will rush in from all over the country and the student section will dissolve. Come June 1 we will all forge our new and own paths towards a whole separate life away from Grosse Pointe South.”

With that in mind, I have now come to appreciate the “lasts” that my classmates and I will experience this year. This was the last time it will ever be normal for months of work to be put in for a spirit jug. This was the last time we will march down Kercheval screaming our lungs out for our class. This is the last time we will ever chant “Ooh-ahh you wish you were a senior” at a football game.

The wait was worth it for this final year to come. Not having a voice at homecoming due to the screaming during spirit week was definitely worth it. My personal apologies go out to any underclassmen whom I screamed “seniors” at and clapped in your face. Don’t worry, your time will come soon.

For me, this year is all about appreciation. Appreciating the tools this school has given me for the next chapter in my life. Appreciating my friends; for we will soon all be split up. Appreciating every moment together because it is our last.

One of the most bittersweet realizations I have come to this year is the sudden awareness of how much I’m going to miss these moments while I’m still living them.