I sit here, before you now as an eighth grade graduate. The song, “The Climb”, has proved to be truer than I could have thought. Graduating, we reached the top of the mountain that makes up eighth grade. During it, we rushed to get to the top as fast as we could without ever stopping to notice the beautiful things there. But now, looking down, I see a long journey. Every step I took molded me a little more to where I am today. You can stop and notice the little things you took for granted. You can’t go back, but you can take your memories, and lessons learned with you.
I guess what you can realize now is that it was never about graduating, or finishing, but more about what you learned during the experience. Reaching the end didn’t change me, getting there did.
It’s hard to appreciate what you have until you loose it. In the beginning of the year, Mr. Lena was my Earth Science teacher. The class immediately fell in love with him and his sense of humor. When Ms. Suttie came, we were all disappointed because she was monotone, and we had to learn, and wanted Mr. Lena back. It wasn’t really until just a month before school ended that we really fawned on her, and realized what a great teacher she was, and now she’s gone.
Mr. Lena was fools gold. He was pleasing to the eye, and was the easy way to take. Not learning much, and having fun. Eventually you realize all fools gold is fake, and Mr. Lena’s class learned this at the regents. Mrs. Suttie was the piece of gold at the bottom of the river. A much harder way to take, but worth it in the end. Its sparkle much brighter, and much more valuable. Eventually, it has to be sold, but we profit from it much more than from fools gold.
Today when I walked out of the big black doors to Commack Middle School, I realized I would never be walking in again. Right now, I am afraid to say that this shock has not set in yet. Many people loathe school, and so did I, but at the very end I had a change in heart and began to love it. Each class held exciting new adventures, and each teacher brought new stories. The embarrassing moments that I had no longer bother me, but I am able to look back at them and laugh. What I realized most importantly towards the end is, “Who cares what other people think of me?” I shouldn’t let other people decide how I should feel about myself, that’s my job.