On Thursday June 15th, 2023, I will be graduating high school. While it’s indeed something I’ve been anticipating for the better part of 10 years, it still feels surreal now that I’m approaching the end of a 12-year journey in the Tahoma School District.

After years of repeated cycles (summers, school shoppings, after-school sports), it eventually becomes all that you know; a series of events that become so second-nature that a change feels entirely foreign. Knowing that I won’t be ending this upcoming future preparing for another year at highschool at my parents house feels just so…wrong. 

While I am undoubtedly excited about entering a massive new section of my life, I can’t help but feeling uneasy and nervous about proceeding throughout adult-like life without the consistent daily guidance of my parents and mentors. I’ve become accustomed to relying on them for a multitude of things, and imagining the absence of that challenges my perception of my reality.

I remember attending my older brothers’ graduations around the ages of 7-10 and not even being able to contemplate the idea of graduating, yet time has seemingly passed me by faster than I was capable of comprehending. It’s like being pressed against a wall, with the real-world bearing down on you, and there’s no more time left to prepare or escape.

I’m sure many others that will be getting their diploma this week feel similarly. It’s comforting in a sense knowing that others may be struggling with the same uncertainties that I am as well. Presumably, the move away from home is daunting to others like it is to me. Leaving the home that I grew up in, and again became completely accustomed to, is terrifying.

However, in the past when I’ve experienced similar fears of drastic change, I’ve discovered the idea or anticipation of the changes are worse than the actual process and outcome itself. That concept is similar to that of procrastination: envisioning doing something is always more painful than doing the task itself, and in hindsight the unwarranted stress you put yourself under seems trivial. I’m hoping that after an initial adjustment period, I’ll think of what I feel now as insignificant, as well. 

In less than three months, I’ll be leaving most of what I’ve ever known behind me. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but simultaneously exciting. However, hopefully similar experiences of others leaving their pasts behind to venture into similar situations will make the jump easier.