Senioritis finally hit me around February. As the countdown to graduation dropped to two digits, my excitement grew.
But, despite being ready to graduate, the next step became more daunting as the number of days dwindled.
Ignoring homework because of senioritis turned into hugging a tear-soaked pillow as reality hit.
My days of laundry not being my responsibility are numbered. Every time my dog looks at me with big, brown eyes and a wagging, curly tail, I wonder who will miss whom more. Nightly family dinners become more precious as I may not be able to fly home for Thanksgiving.
Then, my time to put my last words into the Tiger Print arrived. My chance to pass on some sort of great wisdom gleaned from my 17 years of existence. My last contribution to the program that changed my life.
But, as I sat down to write the column that spun itself in my head all year, I realized the only thing about which I could write with confidence is the certainty of change.
Life isn’t fair, and it sure isn’t predictable.
Change happens all the time, making things complicated. It can be emotionally draining, physically straining and, at times, debilitating.
The one tool we hold to fight change is the power of choice, whether that’s in mindset, the handling of a situation or deciding the next step.
Every change can lead to a choice that will have a consequence. But that will lead to even more choices.
Those of you returning to these halls next year will continue developing who you are and begin making decisions for your future.
I started off wanting to be a journalism and nursing major at the University of Kansas. Then, my interests shifted, and I decided art school might be up my alley. Well, KU didn’t have the program I wanted, so I contemplated a gap year. Then, I took a chance applying to a school that really interested me, and now I’m going to be a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design.
In that small, condensed story, there were a multitude of options.
The change of leaving high school is inescapable. But you hold the choice for what you do with the change.
Life will never be easy, but if we make choices that we can justify, then focusing on the future becomes easier.
Embrace the choices you hold everyday and make the ones that are true to you.
It’s impossible to choose a “correct” path because there isn’t one.
If you aren’t sure about going to college right away, you can take a gap year, join the military or get a job — and those are only a few options.
Maybe you dive right into college but don’t enjoy the school or the major you declared.
You can transfer, and it may be worth changing majors before you wind up stuck in a career you don’t enjoy.
Life becomes more complicated as you progress through high school and, then, into the adult world.
Change will be inevitable, but you always have a choice.