I find it hard to believe that this great chapter of my life is months away from closing. Time is committed without a doubt in stopping. I still remember when I was little and at the age of three. I dreamt of attending school. My dream came true and I started school at the age of three.
As a child, I thought that school was about learning how to tie shoelaces, but time went by and I realized that wasn’t the case. However, the shoes helped guide me by taking me down a path that although I had no idea where it headed. I always trusted that everything would happen for a reason. As a child, I never thought I’d be able to become the strong and capable person I am today compared to the shy and afraid person I was back then. However, the support of my teachers and my family’s guidance helped me a lot. They helped me learn how to trust myself and learn from my mistakes. Fifteen years of school flew away. Now it’s hard to believe that I’m a senior about to graduate from Selma High.
Life has played me in many ways, both good and bad. But it never let me down, and I kept going. I truly believe that life takes care of everything; you just have to give it a little help. Life took people, luck, and happiness away from me at times. But if life gives you something bad, something good is bound to appear. It does not mean those memories will be forgotten, but it is motivation to keep going. My experience and life in high school went fast-moving like a river. It opened my eyes to the fact that every moment must be valued or else it’ll pass you by.
Selma High became a family to me. Having friendships with students, teachers, and staff are the fondest memories I’ll take with me from this school. Yesterday I was talking with my leadership teacher, Mrs. Garcia, about how fast the end of the year was emerging and the plans we have for the rest of the year. That’s when it hit me that my senior year was almost over. I remember being in 6th grade and asking my cousins who were in high school at that time about what it was like to be a high school student. High school was not quite how they said it was going to be. They were right when they said that there were going to be lots of obstacles and difficulties, but there will always be someone to help you.
I remember my freshman year was full of laughter and fun after a pandemic. I think it was the first laugh I felt after everything I’d been through. My sophomore year was where I really got excited about what I was doing. Friends to count on, smiles, a simple “good morning” is what added life to my life. My junior year was the hardest academically of all. There were literally moments of tears and stress, but I always found a way to relax and get my work done. This year, my senior year, there isn’t much academic stress, but there is a lot of work, which I don’t complain about because I like having something to do and staying busy. Clarion, Leadership (Athletics commissioner, Senior Class Treasurer), Link Crew, and Spanish Club kept me busy, and I had the privilege of being able to help out.
Now I sit outside and wait for my accomplice, the wind, to whisper to me the right words and thoughts about: what’s next? Of course, I have plans after high school, but I know it won’t be the same. Everything will change. I’m about to enter real life. How will I overcome these big obstacles? My youth is ending. It makes me laugh and sad that I won’t be able to be like Ari as a child anymore. The one who made jokes, the one who traveled to Mexico every year, the one who set the mood in front of everyone at my parents’ ranch in Mexico. But that girl will still live inside me. She won’t always come out, but once in a while won’t hurt.
Life goes on, memories remain. Life will give us the results of our actions. I will keep my faith and entrust myself to my family who watch over me from heaven. I will hold my rosary and use my mind and heart in real life. I will always keep in mind what my family tells me “Echale ganas” Sea humilde” ” Y acuerdese quien es y valorese” “Put your heart into it” “Be humble” “And remember who you are and value yourself” – Rosa Morales & Mario Navarrete.
