The door is closing on 2014, and while most of us will feel nostalgic about the year that has passed us by, we 2015 seniors are ready to embrace the coming year with open arms. Most will remember 2014 as the year Kim Kardashian bared it all for Paper magazine or when Joffrey took a final bow on season three of Game of Thrones. However you feel, there’s no denying that it has been a tumultuous and exciting year, especially for us seniors. Come May, our school careers end, and “the real world” takes over. Everyone has heard the old saying “high school will be the best years of your life” and the reverse “high school will be the worst years of your life.” The relief, or dread if that’s the way you see it, is that it is almost over. In a year we will migrate back to Jacksonville for the holidays and see who stuck around to go to Illinois College, beelined straight for the work force, and who chose out-of-state or even abroad opportunities. As much as we whine about it, these are the foundational years we will reflect on when we start our families, choose careers, and buy our homes.
As overwhelming as it is, it’s also sort of exhilarating to think about. The girl sitting behind you in fourth period English could be a millionaire in a matter of years. The boy who dutifully reads dusty paperback books in the front of your study hall might own a bar downtown or get elected into congress. So while it is bittersweet to reminisce about the year leaving us, it is priceless to remember that we have a limitless future waiting for us outside the doors of our high school.