I never thought writing my last article for the Niles West News would be so difficult. Honestly, I did not even picture this moment, but as I am sitting here, typing away these words in this wordpress for the last and final time, I have to say, this is nothing but bittersweet. As I get ready to enjoy the rest of my last day with my fellow seniors, I think about the last four years of my life and how quickly it all seems to have passed by.
How am I supposed to believe that it has already been four years since I fell down the deathly stairs near the south lobby on my first day of school (yes, that happened, and I have the scars to prove it)? And the fact that it has already been three years since I began wearing the hijab? And was it really just last year that I was stressing out about ACTs, honors Physics problems, GAW papers, and APUSH outlines? And really just yesterday that I took my oral final in AP Lit? Oh wait… that was yesterday. Ha ha.
Anyways, lame jokes aside, I must say that this is surreal. I don’t want to make this a cliche post with a bunch of “oh my God it’s over!” and “I will miss everything and everyone sooo much.” Because to be honest I really won’t miss everything and everyone sooo much. I wish I could say these past four years have been the best of my life, but really, they weren’t. It is true, however, that I did learn a lot. Maybe not as much as I would like to about certain subjects, but a lot about the kinds of things you can’t learn just from books.
I learned that no matter how hard you work, there will still be times where you don’t do as well as you would like to, but that’s alright. Because it really doesn’t matter how you did, but how much you worked for it. And hard work beats good grades any day. If you’re the kind of person who puts in your all for something, then nobody can say that you are “not smart” or “unintelligent.” We often forget that grades and ACT/SAT scores don’t define us as a person nor do they accurately define our intellect. A number has never and can never tell you who you are, and if there is anything I am taking away from high school, it is that simple concept. I still remember stressing out over a simple ACT test, something that isn’t even relevant to me anymore. If there is any sort of “message” I can get across here, it is that you should never let a bad grade put you down. Grades don’t own you; you own the grades (sorry for that corny line). Being optimistic, believing in yourself, and just striving for the best is actually what will get you where you want to be. Trust me, it is worth it.
And in the end, the most important part of our education, apart from ourselves, is our teachers. Because if it weren’t for the teachers, we wouldn’t have the necessary tools to be educated and gain knowledge. Take some time today to thank all your teachers, even if they have impacted you just by a little bit. If it weren’t for their hard work, you would not be the four years smarter that you are today. We don’t appreciate them enough, so I will take this time now to just give a quick shout out to all the teachers I have had throughout the years and the teachers who have just always been there. Thank you all so much for everything.
No matter how many times I have said I hate high school, I can’t deny that it has given me a lot of great memories and many lessons to learn. It truly is a bittersweet day, but I am looking forward to what’s next. Thank you again Niles West, for giving me the chance to say a happy good-bye.
Have a good one, and I’ll see you later.
-Fatima
