Graduating Class 2011

With graduation coming up in a few months, most seniors are experiencing mixed emotions of starting a new chapter in their lives. You're no longer a child, yet don't have the experience of an adult. In the years to come, those graduating seniors will start to shape their futures. I am one of those seniors. It's hard to explain what goes through a senior's head when about to graduate. I, for one, am excited to start exploring the world without any boundaries. No curfews, no answering to parents, no age limitations. However, separation and homesickness is inevitable. Though we may not show it, we are afraid to be on our own without a security blanket.

I have been an AP student throughout high school and a little bit of a loner in a sea of 2,500 students. My enthusiasm for trying to fit in died off after sophomore year. I kept my thoughts on studying and grades to get into the best universities. Being accepted into a university in Paris, France, made it all worth it. Now that I'm graduating, I won't let my studies engulf me whole. I'll make up for the lost high school memories by living out my dreams in Paris, balancing fun and classes. I hope to achieve more than anyone else of my graduating class. That doesn't mean having the highest salary or being famous, but being well cultured and traveled and having stories to tell.

Being an only child, I don't know how I'll cope without my parents nearby, but I'm giving it a try. It's better to try and fail than to never have tried at all. It has been a tough 4 years with many all nighters and nervous breakdowns, but it's finally coming to an end. I'm starting a new life on the other side of the world with a new slate. I can be whoever I want to be.