As my time at Cardinal Gibbons High School comes to a close, and my graduation approaches, I am able to reflect on my experience here as a whole.

In the past, when I thought about graduating high school, my mind went towards being done with subjects like chemistry and history, and all the exhaustion that comes with being a high school student. But now all I can think about is how young I was when I started high school, and how the pressures of the world hadn’t started hitting as hard as they are now.

What has always made my high school experience enjoyable is the consistency of my days. I knew that I would wake up at the same time on school days, see the same faces when I arrived on campus, study the same subjects, and most importantly, come home to my family at the end of the day. I realize that as I move onto college, this likely won’t be the case. I will be away from the home that I have been raised in, and will adapt to a new life outside of the immediate comfort of my family.

But I know that everything will be okay. The most important things that I have learned here at Cardinal Gibbons will make me successful in life during and beyond college. I have grown in my faith here, I have made friendships that will last me past my days in high school, and I have become a better person through it all. I realize that I am being sent off to college at this point in my life for a reason. I am in between holding onto my childhood past, and seeking adventure and new surroundings in the real world.

As I move on to life in college, I realize that it is just another door that is opening in my life, and that even better things await for me. While I am sad that this time is drawing to a close, the anticipation for the future outways any negative feelings right now, there is so much left for me to achieve. It comforts me to know that I have made connections here that I can lean on in the future. Whether things are going well, or I need a shoulder to lean on, there are people who care about me.

I try to be a person who is strong in my faith. I would not be in the position I am today without the Lord and everything he has blessed me with. Reflecting on my life overall, I hardly deserve any of what I have, and I will never take for granted the faith I am able to practice freely. Life is hard, but it is impossible without God. I  owe everything to him.

Today, I am able to walk away from Gibbons feeling like a more well-rounded person, who feels more prepared for the next steps than I ever could be. There are so many people that I have been grateful to have in my life over the last four years, and I could spend all day naming them.

So instead I will just say: Thank you, Cardinal Gibbons, you will always be a part of me.