The Dread of Future Memories and Friendships

Today as I write this article, February 26th, it is marked as 100 days until graduation. It really seems to be setting in now, the next three months seem like they are about to be filled with so many memories and experiences that I’m eager to have. Time is moving even faster than I imagined and I feel so much change taking place in such a short amount of time.
First of all, no one really tells you just how hard senioritis hits you. Let me tell you, I’ve never felt so lazy in my life. That after school nap went from one hour to me waking up in the middle of the night (I love to sleep). This goes to show how even our bodies feel the never ending exhaustion as we continue further into the year, with so many expectations to be met and pressure weighing down upon us. It makes me think that I won’t get to experience how I pictured my high school years to be like, but as I continue to build my path, I’m being presented with new opportunities that are changing my goals for the better. Also I’m about to become a whole adult in a week. It’s crazy to me. I swear I was just an 8th grader last year.
Within 100 days, I feel as though I wanted to accomplish what I’ve been dreaming about ever since I watched “High School Musical” or “Another Cinderella Story” as a little girl. I’ve been setting my expectations high for years with these movies and books, saying that I want to just be older already. However, I’ve come to realize that what I really wish for is to take in every little moment we have until we walk that stage in June.
Now trust me, I know by now everyone already wants to be done with cramming in class before your exam next period, students cutting in front of you in the lunch line, and feeling anxious at 5pm on a Sunday night thinking about the endless assignments awaiting us for the week. None of that is going to help us survive college, but the true connections made by bonding over shared experiences and memories between one another helps create what is really going to get us farther in life. I’ve heard people say (by people, I mean this girl who was ranting on Tiktok) that it feels so much harder to create genuine friendships and connections with people in college because that has already been achieved within your high school years. I already have a best friend since the third grade, why would I need another one? Of course I’m only being half serious, but with these strong connections we already have, our motivation to keep new ones dwindles as we grow because we still want to feel strongly connected with our childhood friends. But change is inevitable and we will both gain and lose friends along the way, but they will always be within our memories. Also it’s never too late to meet a lifelong friend who can share so many exciting things with you, as I am talking from first hand experience.
No matter who or where you share your moments with, I think we could all agree about taking the time to reflect on what we have experienced as we share it with the people who have seen us change and grow into who we are today. It’s dreadful to feel time slipping away, but it’s also thrilling to know that there’s power to withhold within our own futures and so much adventure as we decide where to go in life.
Within these next 100 days, just absorb everything around you and let yourself be as passionate about your own hopes and goals as you can be (also please don’t let senioritis consume you). We’re almost at the finish line! Let’s leave our mark in these hallways while we still can, with whomever we choose to surround ourselves.