Mead High School: These four years packed full of fun

If I had known four years ago the truth about how high school was really going to be, I definitely would have fastened my seat belt a little tighter. This ride has been the fastest, craziest, most exhilarating one yet. And I’ve loved every curve, every up and down, every second of it.

I think as little, innocent, confused freshmen, we stumble into high school not really thinking about what we’ll get out of it, being just another step of required schooling. But it turned into a giant amusement park, filled with an assortment of cool activities as well as study and going to class. It was overwhelming what we could choose to do: band, track and field, chess club, math club, fencing, digital media, drama, leadership… and some of us didn’t have a clue which was right.

In high school there was so much going on, so many adventures to experience, good and bad. Maybe we did something new, auditioned for the play, joined the math club, tried out for the cheer squad, but it turned out to be a bad ride, one of those awful spinning ones that leave you queasy, and it wasn’t right. So we kept walking through the park until another ride caught our eye. We picked up something different until, through trial and error, we came across something we love; something enjoyable and meaningful.

Maybe it was Eagle Scouts, practicing the piano, rebuilding cars, volunteering at the church nursery, or just hanging out with close friends on Fridays. Whatever it is, we love so much we feel like we could ride that ride over and over again, or do it forever until we win a free car.

Just like a roller coaster, high school inevitably had its ups and downs, and unexpected, jerky curves that just about snapped your head off your neck. We had times where we climbed higher and higher toward the top, building more and more excitement and anticipation, only to have it all dropped, down, down, down.

There were the low points, where life got tough and you didn’t know whether you could make it through; your cart was freefalling so fast down the tracks (and then just at the worst time, “click,” your picture is taken) but you came out of it.

We learned how to overcome the uneasy times and come out on top again, ready, more so than ever, to take on the next obstacle of life, the next plunge. But, most importantly, it is because of those hard times, that we have learned to appreciate the greatest aspects of life.

Now we’re all out of tickets for the rides; high school is over; the park is closed. Hopefully, we’ve ridden all the ones we wanted. Sure, we loved some, loathed others, but at the end of the day we’ve found our favorites. And that’s the most important lesson. Learn and know what you love to do, your passions, and what just makes you happy in life.

I encourage all to go after whatever puts a smile on their face. Be it becoming a musician in the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, a medical researcher, a second grade teacher, a photographer, a journalist, a Marine, or just staying tight with friends and kicking it! Or if you haven’t found something to be passionate about yet, find new parks, buy more tickets, go on more rides!

Congratulations fellow graduates of 2007, we’ve survived the ultimate roller coaster ride called high school. Now a whole new season is here, full of new attractions and opportunities … let’s ride!