It’s finally here. I thought this moment would never come, yet time has gone by so fast. I am graduating, leaving high school, starting a completely new life.
After contemplating and praying I committed to James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. I was born in Virginia and my dad still lives there, so it’s like I’m coming home.
Graduating is more than just leaving Mansfield to go to a school a few hours away like most students. I will be approximately 1,102 miles away. I won’t even come back to Mansfield on my breaks because my mom is moving to Austin once I graduate. I will pack up and move to Virginia at the end of June. So this really is it.
I have always said I hated Mansfield and could not wait to leave which is mostly true. But there will be a part of me that will miss this place, mainly the people I will leave behind. Leaving my friends will be the hardest thing I will have to do, knowing I will not see them often. People ask me if I am scared to leave, but I’m not. It’s a new chapter, a fresh start, new people, new atmosphere. I need this, I need to get out of this town.
Another thing that will be hard to leave is this program. I was a freshman when they put me in journalism 1, something I did not sign up for. I tried to get my schedule changed, but all the other classes were full. I always think if I would have been able to get out of journalism 1 I would not have made it here. I would not have had the opportunity to have Mallett and Dearinger as mentors and teachers. I would not have met the friends I have made in this program (shoutout to Grant, Dalton, Anna and Tori) who always make fun of me, but it is all out of love so I forgive them. I would not have had the opportunity to travel, to write and to learn. I am part of something, I’m part of a team.
Every senior says this and I never really listened. Get involved as much as you can, go out as much as you can, go on a date with that boy, treasure your time in high school. It will be gone before you know it. I wish I could make time go a little slower, just a little bit. But I can’t.
As this chapter of my life closes, I am excited, and a little nervous, for a fresh start. I can not say I will never come back to Mansfield, but it will be a long time before I do.
Katherine Powell signing out for the final time.
