[A Year in Review: Senior Year]

It has been quite some time since I've blogged due to my recent trip to Italy. Before I begin my long compilation of Italy posts(there will be about 9), I wanted to recap on everything that happened at the end of my Senior year, before I left for Italy. 

These are the roots of a very small bouquet of flowers I picked up at Jamie's cottage over Memorial day weekend. Jamie, Ellie, Danielle, and I spent the weekend there, as I do every year, and it was a perfect glimpse of summer. We ate delicious food, and even managed to make ourselves full dinners, using the stove and everything. We took photos, layed out on the roof, went for walks, and sat in front of campfires. It was wonderful spending time with friends and just being able to relax. 

These are the thank you notes I made for my teachers. I have pretty thoroughly expressed already how grateful I am to have such supportive teachers, but I feel I can't reiterate it enough.  It was so hard to say goodbye and know that it was the last time I'd see these wonderful people until I visit them this fall or winter. I talked to Mr. Eastman before graduation, Mr. Ramponi afterwards during pictures, and Mrs. Klunder for a substantial amount of time at the after party. I'm going to miss these three more than I will miss some of my friends. On a similar note, we had a going away party for Mr. Aamot on Monday. We had to write in a book for him and this is pretty much the gist of what I wrote. 

Mr. Aamot- You have taught me so much about music and about life these past three years. You showed me how to go deeper without holding back, make connections, and look out for the needs of others. You have also taught me a lot musically. I grew from a timid sophmore into a confident senior who has no trouble singing "My Soul's Been Anchored" on an airplane when no one around her is singing. Thank you and good luck

I thought it would be hard to write a thank you to him because of all of the times I've found it hard to tollerate him. What I wrote though, was completely honest and true. Even if he isn't the most loveable person, he has taught me a lot. I was thinking when I left how wierd it was that this was probably the last time I'd see him as he is going to school in Texas next year. Then again, I saw him yesterday driving around with his girlfriend, so that might be the actual last time. 

This picture is on the last day of school, signing yearbooks. I can't remember why this picture was taken, only that I thought it was too precious not to capture. And I promised them that I would put it on my blog. This picture to me represents the beauty of friendships, and the relationships we've made over these past years together. Even if people haven't talked for a few months or years, during graduation everyone comes together. Some may think this is just putting on a front and call it all a lie, but I see it as putting our differences behind us, and remembering all of the good times we've had together. The time when Tommy came late into Health class, Mr. Hacker talking about healthy eating, Tommy stuffing his face with french fries. Suffering through 6 am lifeguarding class with Chloe, Emily, and Alex. The bond that anyone who took Mr. Davis's AP Bio class shares, a basic awe to have made it out alive. The way that anyone, anywhere can recognize Chelsea's laugh. We remember these things, maybe not specific instances, but we know somehow that we are tied to the people around us, and that connection tightens during the end of the year. This isn't exactly the case with Andrew and Sam, they are good friends, and they are my good friends. I have been friends with Andrew since Freshman year Civics, we used to talk all the time about relationships, homework, and there was even a period of time when I picked out what he should wear the next day. We aren't as close as we used to be, but choir has kept us together, and we talked quite a bit on the Italy trip. Sam and I have a deep bond because of our similar hair color. She is such a genuine, sweet girl and I am so happy to have her smile, laugh, and baking in my life. My favorite times with her have probably been going to Spring Awakening, homecoming and homecoming sleepovers, and of course choir. I dearly love my redheaded Sam. There are some friendships that have came and went, and others that have stuck and are truly rooted in our souls, but we will always have memories with the people we went to high school with, and we will always have some ties with them. 

Graduation. A whirlwind of activity, anxiety, and emotion. But I am happy. Extremely happy. Exuberant. I know so well that if it weren't for these three wonderful people and my father I would have never made it this far. My father has given me wisdom, advice, and has always let me know that he expects a lot from me, but it's okay if I mess up. My mother has given me encouragement, late night hot chocolate, and listened to me cry when I was sure I was going to fail. My brother has given me confidence in my intelligence, and a standard for my sister and me to live up to. He has also given me gobs of advice from his own experiences, hours of calc help, and gave my college essay a major face lift. My sister has given me motivation to work hard as she is one of the hardest workers I know, almost never backing down from a challenge. She reminds me that school isn't everything, shows me to be grateful for my teachers and future professors, and has always been a great encouragement, texting me during finals or emailing me when I need a break from studying to read a blog about psycho dogs. I love my family so much and I am so thankful for the influence they've had in my life and education. 

Italy. This is where I leave off, until the much awaited journal entries are copied onto this screen as narratives, with the helpful aid of photos. This was the most incredible journey of my life and I cannot wait to share it.

*This post was originally written on June 14, but as I wanted my Italy posts to be dated correctly, I changed the date to June 2, when I actually should have written.