Clean Out Your Lockers, Turn Your Tassels and On To the Next

The final week of school was short and bittersweet. I cleaned out my viola case and turned in the instrument. I took the pictures and magnets out of my locker and shut the door. I wrote my thank you notes to the teachers who have meant so much to me throughout the last four years. I kissed the stage good-bye and I walked out the doors of the school on Tuesday and realized that I never needed to go back. And before I knew it, I was waiting in a long line of students to walk onto the field of Memorial Stadium to participate in the ritual that has always seemed 18 years away, no matter what age I was. This was it, this was the moment I had been waiting for all my life and now the tassel has been turned to the other side of the cap and I am ready for the next adventure.

As I sat in my seat at graduation, the memories of high school began to fly through my head. Good memories, bad memories, ALL memories. I remembered my very first day of school when I felt more out of place than I had in my entire life because I had entered a class of 400 from a class of 12 and I knew 3 people in the entire school. First semester Freshman year was the hardest, but after making it through those 5 months I knew that the rest of high school would be possible. Now, I am on top of the world and have made more friends, students and teachers alike, than I ever thought I would. These are the people who have changed my life and helped me discover more and more who I truly am.

I distinctly remember auditioning for "Crazy For You" and wondering what exactly I was getting myself into. I know now that I was getting myself into a family that would stick with me forever and grow bigger each year as I tried out for seven more plays. That funky drama crowd that looked so strange from the outside changed my life from the very start. From the night we went to Dennys at midnight to critique a different production of "Crazy For You" to the night that the curtain fell for the last time in "Guys and Dolls", I have been creating lasting relationships left and right. This crowd of people taught me not to judge too quickly or too harshly, because even though they wear strange clothes and have pink hair, they all have huge hearts that are made of gold.

The person who truly changed my life is gone now, but she showed love to me when nobody else did and without her, I would not have been who I am now. She gave me the confidence it took to be myself and that is exactly what I have done. She taught us all to love everyone who came into our lives, regardless of whether or not we considered them our friends. To her, everyone was a friend and that is exactly how we should live. We should live life loving those around us and spreading that love throughout the world. She also taught me that we should not live life with regret, that we should grasp all the opportunities we can. Truly, without her, I would not have lived the life that I did in high school.

The stories are endless and that makes it very difficult to put high school into only a few words. But in the end, all I have to say is that it was perfect. It had its share of good and bad, but I have no complaints. I got through the first semester of Freshman year and the last semester of senior year, the two hardest. Sandwiched between those semesters are dozens of memories and friendships that will stay with me for the rest of my life, but now it is time to move on to the next adventure. College is waiting for me and I will enter with a newfound confidence that, without high school, would be non-existent. So, here's a "thank you" to high school and all that it brought to my life.

The Northeast Wing

My final orchestra concert was on June 3, but it took until now to finally be able to find the words to say about it. The orchestra has been the most significant part of my high school career and playing that final, drawn out note on the C-string of my precious viola broke me up inside. Four years full of the best of times and worst of times, but for the most part full of absolute joy. Playing that note meant it was all over and I didn't want that. No, I didn't want that at all. My territory in Ballard High School is the Northeast wing. Nobody knows where the northeast wing is, but I do; it's the band room and the black box theatre. In other words, my home away from home.

It is impossible to calculate the number of hours spent in this area of the school because I have been in 8 plays, 16 concerts, 2 dance recitals and have only actually watched a concert one time. Sitting in the ridiculously uncomfortable auditorium seats was new to me when I watched the spring choir concert this year. It felt strange not to be on the stage, because a huge part of me is in that stage. There are too many stories and memories to share. There was the year we ate lunch on the stage everyday. There are the dance parties on the stage. The last day of junior year when I just laid on the stage for an hour staring up at the fly. Whitewashing the sets and painting the drops. The Tri-M concerts. Playing Christmas carols on the stage during sectionals. Playing hide and seek during sectionals. Early mornings with the chamber orchestra. Every one of these events was filled with enthusiasm and friendships that are unforgettable.

That is why when Mr. James put his baton down for the last time, a tear came to my eye. It was the last event on the stage. The last time I would look out into the crowd of the Earl Kelly Auditorium. It was over. So, now, I have said my farewell to the orchestra and will never be able to play with them again. It is a pity, but it's the truth, and the truth means that I must move on. So I will move on, with a smile on my face and a song in my heart. A song played by the orchestra of BHS.