A cliché is a thing or phrase that becomes overused and common place. English teachers cringe when seeing them in writing, and so do I.

But I don’t completely hate them. In my opinion, they’re poetic. They hold truths about life that would otherwise take people years to discover on their own. My current favorites? “Everything happens for a  reason” and “life is too short.”

Everything happens for a reason. Our senior year being disrupted due to Coronavirus is one of those things. It sucks and its totally not fair. But it’s been a blessing in disguise. This time alone has given me the opportunity to spend time alone with my family and myself, two things I didn’t get much time to do during high school, before going off to college and entering into true adulthood. It’s been a chance to say goodbye to my family and my life here, slowly. A chance to discover more about myself before entering an environment where it will be hard to be myself, at least for the first few months. Maybe these are the reasons why we didn’t get our senior year.

Life is too short. The years really flew by, didn’t they? What a cliché. The fact that my senior year ended early only further reminds me that I need to take advantage of every single opportunity given to me. I never thought I’d say this, but I miss waking up early for school, running to class so I’m not late, and sometimes falling asleep in first period because I only slept two hours the night before. I miss every single part about school, not just the fun parts. This untimely end to the year has truly taught me to appreciate every experience in my life, because it really is too short.

One cliché that I don’t particularly like? “High school is the best four years of your life.”

I won’t lie, these past four years at Seattle Prep have been amazing. I’ve laughed, I’ve cried. Most importantly, I’ve grown, matured, and really started to discover who I am. I couldn’t have done any of this without the influence of my teachers, friends, and mentors, all of which Prep provided me with. For that, I will be forever grateful.

However, Prep also provided me with some reflection skills and insight that has led me to the following conclusion: life is too short to dwell on my high school years. These can’t be the best four years of my life because my life has barely just begun. Prep will always hold a special place in my heart, but it’s time to make some new memories.

High school is ending. And for me, that’s scary and sad and intimidating. These are years I’ll look back on for my entire life. The people I’ve met here, my friends, classmates, teachers, and mentors, are people I’ll never forget. Some, I may never see again. Some, I may end up seeing for the rest of my life.

I’m scared to leave home and my childhood.  But what I’ve realized recently is that leaving here doesn’t mean I’m leaving all of the memories, lessons, and most importantly, the people and connections I’ve made, behind. They’re only going to grow. My life will only be richer, now, because of them.

It’s the connections I’ve made that really matter in the end. And for those, I will be forever grateful. I love you , 2020. This isn’t goodbye, just see you later