Graduation

I can't believe it's over.

The bus ride back from Brooklyn took forever. I got home at 5:30 and went to bed immediately. Jack owes me a favor.

I never sleep in late, so I was really worried about being tired for graduation. Today my body surprised me and I slept until 3:22 when my mom came into my room and woke me up. Oops.

I spent the next 38 minutes showering, eating a grilled cheese sandwich, trying to finish my speech, and freaking out.

It all came together though, and I made it to Forest Lake a little after 4:00 to take a picture with some of my classmates who also went to Flake. It was adorable.

Home for a hot second before heading to the school. Resume freaking out. My nose was all stuffy and gross and CPrest gets a special shout-out for being so kind and funny as I blew my nose disgustingly in her presence.

Courtney and I (and Alyssa) were looking for Mr. Brown to give him our speeches, but eventually he told us just to leave them in the podium. It felt weird walking out onto the field before everyone else just to stick some papers under the podium.

Back inside to our rooms to get our National Honor Society cords and to line up. It was a pleasure walking and sitting between Besh and Bon today. Sorry for crying so much.

We walked out of the back gym and onto the field in our assigned pairs, stride for stride. It felt really good to be out on the track again. Lame, I know.

I'm so lame.

I was alright during the whole ceremony, even during the speech Courtney and I gave, but when Alyssa got about halfway through her speech, I began to bawl. I cried all throughout the rest of the ceremony, only stopping when I went to get my diploma and about 10 minutes after we threw our caps. I'm hoping to change this picture to one of our Class throwing the caps in the air, but it's 12:45 and I can't seem to secure a great-quality one (thank you to Jimjam and Kelly for sending me some pictures, though).

I hung around the field for a while to take some last pictures with friends and teachers. I'm so happy graduation was outdoors.

My family went to dinner with Jess and her family and I think that might be the best decision we ever made.

Just read the newsletter, Dan. It's awesome.

So, here I am at the end of my journey. One thousand, three hundred and eighty nine days ago, I began this journal to document my high school career. Every day, I've written down what's happened in my life and shared it with the world. A lot has happened in these four years, and I wouldn't change a moment of any of them. The good, the bad, and everything in between are what make life worth living. I hope that you've enjoyed following along with my journey and growing with me, and though I still haven't decided whether or not I will begin a new blip in the future, I know that it's time to close the door on this one.

Thank you all. You changed me.