Don’t forget the firsts

Ever since senior year started, I recognized all of the “lasts.” Last marching band competition, speech tournament, homecoming, fall play, one-act, track meet, and everything in between. But freshman year, I never realized how important all of the “firsts” were. Honestly, I don’t remember much of anything freshman year. Nothing that was so important to me, then, matters anymore. I have always been so caught up in all of my activities that I don’t really know what to do with all of this time now.  I have been thinking about every moment of high school that I could possibly remember from my four years. Every moment that I see as amazing involves my best friends. In all of my activities, I have always had my little family who stuck by me through everything. These are the people who walk into my house without knocking, raid my fridge just to let me know we have nothing to eat, and swear they are only staying over for 5 minutes before going home after 5 hours. These are the people I will miss the most. But I’d like to thank my most annoying friend, Joseph Roeder. You’ve known every secret, every tear, and every laugh. Thank you for showing me who a good person is at such a young age. You’re an amazing kid and I hope you never change. I already know you’ll leave a huge footstep on that school that’s much bigger than I ever could.

The same person, but different than when I began

I am a very different person than I was freshman year. I owe a lot of that to my teachers and coaches. Mr. Cooper, thank you for always supporting me and pushing me to do better in theater, speech, and as a person. You’ve always seen the best in me when I couldn’t see it in myself. Mr. Bradley, thank you for holding me responsible all these years. You gave me a passion that I can never put down. You sat with me through endless practices and encouraged me when I felt like giving up. I can never repay you or tell you two how much you shaped me throughout high school. I could never be who I am now without you two. I would also like to thank all of my teachers who have given me so much knowledge to lean on.

The lessons I have taken

The lessons I have taken from North Platte High are all of the cliches. It took a long time, and I still have to catch myself sometimes, but I stopped caring about what people think about me. I have always been the girl who tries to do it all, because I love all that I do. I am not going to change that about me. I also learned that one person’s opinion doesn’t need to be taken as fact-even if they are your best friend. Everybody has good in them somewhere, so never let someone else’s opinion about someone falter yours. The hardest thing for me to learn is that I am never going to be perfect. I will never be incredible at everything I do, but I still work really hard. I am my own biggest critic and that will probably never change.

Enjoy it while it lasts

To everybody still in high school, take advantage of the things around you. Obviously, things can be taken from you without any warning. So lean on the people around you, use your teachers while you’ve got them, and find a passion you can take with you. Personally, I wish I would have been more outgoing and gotten to know more about people’s lives. Although my time got cut short in high school, I am so excited for every new struggle college will bring.