It’s weird to think about how fast time moves. One day, you’re sitting with your friends in the cafeteria, talking about the TV shows and bands you love, and the next, you’re watching them put on their caps and gowns. It’s like life sneaks up on you when you’re busy living it. Some of my favorite people are graduating this year, and I don’t know how to sum them up in just a few words. But I’ll try. 

Some people can walk into a room and make everything feel lighter, just by being there. That kind of person who makes you feel like you belong, even when you’re convinced you don’t. Conversations with them never feel forced – they just happen in ways that make time disappear. It’s weird to think about what this place will feel like when they’re gone. The hallways will still be here, the classrooms, the parking lot. But the people who made it feel like more than just a place? They won’t be. And that’s the part that’s hard to accept. 

Things are changing, whether I’m ready or not. It’s exciting and terrifying all at once. Someone once told me that high school is like a whirlwind mess of moments, and if you’re lucky enough not to get lost, you find your people to share it with. I was lucky, I found my people. And I’m not trying to say goodbye, I’m trying to say that it’s hard to let go of the people that make you feel accepted. Graduation is weird because it’s not just about leaving a school, it’s about leaving people too. 

So, to all the seniors graduating this year: I hope you know what you’re leaving behind. It’s not just a school, it’s people who care about you, even if they don’t always know how to show it. And to all my friends specifically who make leaving harder than staying: don’t forget the little people still stuck in high school trenches while you’re off being all cool and adult-like.

Maybe for some it is the beginning of something and for others it is the end of an era.

I would like to end this with a quote from Phoebe Bridgers: “anyway don’t be a stranger”- please don’t become a stranger to me. Text me about the new friends you make at college or work, call me when you just need someone to talk to, invite me to your weddings and baby showers, come say hi when you see me in the grocery store, wave at me when we pass each other on the road. I’ll be keeping an eye out for you.