Today was my last last day of school. Ever. The last time I will ever have to go to public-mandated school in my life. When I pictured this day in my head at the beginning of this year (or, who am I kidding. I’ve thought about this day since freshman year. Alright, maybe eighth grade.) I thought I would be overjoyed to get the heck out of the school. When I woke up this morning, I felt a lot different than I thought I would. An odd sense of nostalgia-and dare I say-sadness washed over me as I began a day full of lasts.

And that’s when it hit me- in life, and especially in high school- we spend a lot of our time wishing away the seemingly mundane tasks of the day. I will admit, there were a lot of times when I would sit in class wondering why I was there, thinking that there were more productive ways for me to spend my time. I would walk aimlessly through the halls and count the minutes until periods were over, until it was time for lunch, until the school day was over, until it was the weekend, until break, until summer. And then I would start all over again the next year. But when I walked into school today, I felt something different. I suddenly cherished the time I walked in the halls, the routine of class, and everything in between. This couldn’t really be it, could it? The last time walking those halls as a student, the last time greeting those same teachers who have shaped me into who I am, and the last time I would be with this same group of peers ever in my life, and yes, the last time I would ever clean out my locker filled to the brim with papers. Although I am so excited for what’s to come, it feels strange to come to terms with leaving the people and places that I have known for my entire life.

Being a senior does mean coming to terms with a lot of lasts, but as I found out today, it also means reflecting on what it really means to make your mark. Yes, I  have made my “mark” physically on the school in the form of hand prints on the outside wall, accompanying several seniors before me, or signing my name in the prop room where I have spent many school plays getting ready for a big show, but today, I realized making my mark means a lot more than signing my name on a wall in the school.

To me, I have made my mark in the friendships I have made, the laughter I have shared with my classmates and the wisdom I have acquired from my teachers that I have applied in my life. I feel that so many times in our society, we feel we need to do something big to make a mark on the world. We feel that we need to climb hypothetical mountains or change the tides to make an impact, but I think that there’s more to it than that. If there is one thing I have learned from my time at Marietta High School, it’s that it is the most simple things that make the biggest difference. It is opening yourself up to people who you never thought you would. It is smiling at people and asking how their day is. It is sitting with the person who doesn’t have anyone else to sit with. These actions have cost me nothing, but they have meant everything to someone else, and in the long run, myself.  I have learned that while grades and achievements are important, it’s people who make the difference.

High school has taught me that while it’s important to be nice in this life, it’s more important to be good. While niceness is conveyed through our words, it is our actions that reveal true goodness. I am thankful that I could spend the past four years with genuinely good friends, good teachers, and good peers. I know each and every one of them will go on to be successful in life and make their own mark on the world. Despite our successes and achievements, however, I hope we will be good.

A special thank you goes out to my English teacher, Mrs. “Bev” Warren. Thank you for helping me discover my passion for writing! You are truly an amazing and inspiring teacher.