I’d never given much thought to the ordinary moments in my life, things I wouldn’t have second glanced at. Freshman year feels so far from where I stand now, yet somehow, surprisingly close at the same time. Somewhere between then and now, time moved much quicker than I was prepared for. As graduation approaches and I watch the countdown slowly get smaller, I find myself trying to prolong conversation and become more attuned to the people around me. I’m realizing the value in moments I never thought would one day be stripped away.
Among soccer games, rehearsals, choir concerts, passing periods, and even everyday conversations, high school slowly became my everyday life without realizing it. Classrooms and hallways that once felt unfamiliar eventually wove their way into my routine. People who were strangers slowly became part of my everyday life. I imagine a part of what feels so strange is realizing that the things that once scared me grew to the to be things I became attached to.
I don’t think I’ve fully processed that these are my last times living through these moments. A part of what makes graduation so bizarre is realizing some moments have already ended before I even had the chance to fully appreciate them. I’m still actively living through these moments while also watching them slowly become memories at the same time. Only now do I realize how many memories I’ve made in these classrooms, on stages, on soccer fields, and with the people around me.
As excited as I am for what comes next, I have also never been so terrified. I am used to routines, familiar faces, and the life I have built for myself here. This has been my everyday life for as long as I can remember, and I hadn’t fully realized how comfortable I’d been calling Selma home until I was suddenly asked to leave it behind. All of these experiences slowly shaped me into the person I am today.
I believe leaving has changed what I pay attention to. Over time I’ve become more appreciative of the people around me and the small moments that I know are temporary. Maybe this won’t fully hit me until much later, in quiet moments when I drift further from this version of my everyday life and begin realizing how much of it I had grown attached to. Distance carries the heaviest weight.
If I could do life all over again until this point, I wouldn’t change anything. I would simply allow myself to appreciate it more deeply while it was happening. To enjoy every ordinary day with the understanding that one day I would miss it. Maybe the most meaningful parts of life were hidden inside the moments I once overlooked. We’re all doing our best to live and all we can really do is cherish every remarkable moment.
