Caleb Congdon

This last year of high school feels like it began only a few weeks ago and now it’s already over. Now, whether that’s because it’s senior year or because I’ve been trapped indoors for so long I can’t say, but what I can say is that I’m sad to see it come to an end. In the past four years, I’ve experienced and learned more than I have in the previous fourteen. In this short time, numerous passions were discovered, an identity was made, hard times were endured, and more recently, a future starting to be forged. High school has been a paramount part of my life. 

For me, my path following education hasn’t ended; the future still holds a few more years of schooling. School is so much more than the classes you take. High school was about the experiences I made through the years. I made new friends, lost some old ones, and even got out of my shell and went to a few social events. I may have not always been the most outgoing person, but I still had my share of good times. Those good times, those are the moments I will remember. Going into KHS as a freshman, I’d heard the exact same thing I’m saying now as a senior. I would say I wish I could have taken better advantage of the time I had, but to be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t want to change a thing. I’m thankful for having been able to make such memories, especially the ones I made with others. Not all of those memories may be positive, but they are treasured memories nonetheless, and I’m thankful for those who helped make them. 

I’m thankful for all that I learned, maybe not for learning how to measure the hypotenuse of a triangle or the chemical formula of an orange, but for all the little details that formed who I am now. I started off as a small, quiet, awkward kid that had difficulty talking to people other than friends. Now, I’m a new person. I’ve learned to become more confident, to talk to those who accept me, how to speak up, and most importantly, I’m significantly less awkward. Through all these lessons something more changed.

All my life I’ve lived in this old family home. My parents are divorced and my mother moved around several times, but this home. This house never changed, never moved. In a way, my first home is a sort of anchor. I have all the comforts I’ve always had, my pets, my own room, and all that fills it. Soon, this room will start to become empty. Soon I’ll be in a new place-unknown and foreign. Four years ago thinking about this would seem inconceivable and impossible. With so much changing, I wouldn’t have seen myself making this leap. However, those years have come to pass and now the hurdle doesn’t seem so vast. It’s still intimidating, but it seems feasible, no longer an impossibility. With all my experiences, and with all that I’ve learned, I finally feel prepared for this next step in life.