Twelve years. Twelve entire years that I have seen your faces everyday. And now as my senior year comes to a close, I realize that I will no longer be seeing the same faces of my fellow classmates everyday.

We have grown up together. We laughed together. Some of us maybe even cried together. We complained about the same assignments together. We compared classes together. We walked the halls of Knoch High School together. We did everything together. We did it as one.

As I take my next step, I am ready to accept the fact that I will be seeing thousands of new faces in the next four years. New voices, new smiles, new laughs. All new people that I will know absolutely nothing about. These will be the new people I will learn to grow up with, but I will grow up differently.

After twelve years, it is finally the time for me to say my goodbyes. These are the kind of goodbyes I could never even imagine I would finally be saying. I’m finally being able to close one of the most important chapters of my life so far.

Goodbye to the classrooms I have fought so hard to not fall asleep in. Goodbye to the desks that I have taken numerous notes and tests on. Goodbye to the computers Paige and I watched The Muppets on for weeks on end. Goodbye to the bipolar metal detectors that go off one day and don’t the next. Goodbye to the stool next to Señora’s desk. Goodbye to the table in Ms. T’s where Ava, Paige, Natalie and I always had something to say at. Goodbye to the absolutely frigid library. Goodbye to the daily morning announcements. Goodbye to teachers that care for you like their own child. Goodbye to the halls that feel almost like home.

From the many different friends I have made in high school, along with the ones I have grown apart from, thank you for being a major part of my life, some more impactful than others. Some have been with me from the absolute start, and some have just joined in these past few years, maybe even past months. Some of these people have given me the best memories of my life.

Especially my best friend, Ava. I cannot thank that girl enough for everything she has done and gone through with me. From our thousands of memories from our childhood, to the summer driveway memories, to the late night talks at your kitchen counter, I cannot express how important you are to me. Thank you for being my best friend. You are one of my goodbyes I am not quite ready to say, and I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready to say.

I would like to give a special thanks to all of my teachers that have had to deal with me throughout my past four years here in high school. Even though I am very appreciative of all of the teachers I have had in my time, there are a few I would like to directly thank. First and foremost, thank you Ms. T for making your room feel like home and letting Paige and I avoid all school work and allowing us to watch movies in study hall. Thank you Señora for showing me how to love the little things in life and how to dress so fashionably. Thank you Mr. Miller for always having your door open to anyone who needs to talk. Thank you Mrs. West for being the best mom of a teacher out there and always being the one to relate to.

Most importantly, thank you Knoch High School. I never thought the time would come, that I would finally have to close my locker for the last time and say my goodbyes to everything around me. I wish that I wouldn’t have wished it away so quickly. I am very appreciative of what high school I got to experience, from life with no pandemic, to school with a pandemic, to years partially affected.

As I look back, time really does go by fast. So don’t be afraid to join that club, take that class, try the sport, talk to the new kid. Before you know it, you’ll be trying on your cap and gown, saying goodbye to your teachers and friends, and taking the next step in life. Don’t worry so much about the little things, just take it all in one day at a time.