Graduation fell upon the 2019 Seniors as the saddest and/or happiest day of their lives. However, for me, it was the scariest. I watched some of my favorite peers walk across the stage, dressed in cap and gown, diploma in hand, with only one thought lingering in my mind: the next graduation will be mine. The ending of one journey and the unknowing possibilities of the next. This is why I’m so scared for my senior year at OCSA–but this is also why I shouldn’t be.

As a junior, there is much to think about in relevance to senior year. We all look forward to the most talked about events, for example, Senior Prom and Grad Bash. However, sometimes we fail to process the more serious topics of conversation. Among them, what to do when we’re no longer a part of a school some have known since sixth grade.

Nobody wants to contemplate college deadlines or senior projects, because it only signifies the daunting concept that we are far from the children we once were many years ago. We go to school everyday, deal with the same teachers, classwork, and even dramatic gossip, then say we are ready to graduate. Then we go home, our mothers kiss us goodnight, we cozy up in the same bed, the same room, the same four walls we’ve lived in our whole lives, and suddenly, we’re five years old again; how is a five year old supposed to survive by themselves in a world where “alone” is the hardest thing to be?

I want to say that I’m excited for the end of high school. I want to say that I know that the future holds everything I wish for it to be. Nonetheless, I can’t. I can’t possibly know what’s waiting for me beyond OCSA’s parking lot, but I believe that I carry the strength to get through it. Though the past years have been a mix of emotions and we may forget that new adventures await for us around the corner, we remind ourselves of the people who we take a long the way and, suddenly, life doesn’t feel as lonely. Suddenly, we’re ready to jump, not regretting if we fall or not, but having the courage to finally fly.

After writing this article, I’ve come to the conclusion that I am more scared of the unknown than I care to admit. Though I fear what’s to come, I know I will be okay.

From everybody at the OCSA Ledger, we would like to congratulate OCSA’s 2019 Senior class and wish them luck in their future endeavors. I wish you the best in your journey and I hope, though you are moving on towards your new life, you will remember the memories of your old one along the way.