Well, that's it. Never again will I come home with chocolate icing in my hair. Never again will I have to serve the bag lady, who comes into the bakery with millions of empty reusable bags and leaves with them full fifteen minutes later. Never again will I walk home with the natural perfume of baked goods emanating from me. Never again...
Okay, you get the point. Yesterday was my last day working as a bakery clerk, and I have to say it's left me feeling more nostalgic than relieved, as I would not have expected!
The other day, while watching the World Cup (of course), my mom made an interesting observation: the last time we were watching the World Cup, I had just graduated from middle school. The next time I will be watching the World Cup, I will probably be graduating from university. Not only was it strange to realize that the World Cup syncs perfectly with the timing of my graduations, it also gave me a little perspective. I can't remember any of the problems I was having in grade eight, though I'm sure they were numerous and probably seemed all-encompassing at the time. Having my life divided into chunks of four years just made some things seem so insignificant.
This past month, especially this past week, has evoked so many different emotions in me. This time, the end of grade 12, is a time of change. Most obvious, it is the end of high school - the end of my public education, which has been such a defining part of my life until now. It's the end of other, less significant things too, like my job at the bakery. It is also a time of beginnings. I often hear people talking about university as being the time when life really begins - that high school is just a time you have to get through, and once you're in university, BAM - life starts. I am also now officially an adult (though it doesn't really feel any different, in honesty) which means I should be taking control of my own life. For the first time I will be living alone, in a strange city, doing things when I want and because I want to.
When I think about my high school years, they have been a time of firsts and lasts, of beginnings and endings. A quote I've been thinking about recently links these two concepts together, from the song "Closing Time", by Semisonic: "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." Such a simple line, but oh so true.
Overall, I think high school has been a good experience. I have definitely learned a lot, not just academically, but about myself. I have been pushed to my limits academically and emotionally, and what I've discovered is that I am actually much stronger than I realized. I've made friends, grew apart from friends, and by doing so have discovered what kind of people I really want in my life. I've figured out what I'm interested in and what kind of things I hope to accomplish at some point in my life. There have definitely been good times and bad times, but the point remains that I have survived them.
Have you seen the movie Little Miss Sunshine? If not, you definitely should! There's a scene in it that really sums up the high school experience, in my opinion:
"Dwayne: I wish I could just sleep until I was eighteen and skip all this crap - high school and everything - just skip it.
Frank: Do you know who Marcel Proust is?
Dwayne: He's the guy you teach.
Frank: Yeah. French writer. Total loser. Never had a real job. Unrequited love affairs. Gay. Spent 20 years writing a book almost no one reads. But he's also probably the greatest writer since Shakespeare. Anyway, he gets down to the end of his life, and he looks back and decides that all those years he suffered, those were the best years of his life, 'cause they made him who he was. All those years he was happy? You know, total waste. Didn't learn a thing. So, if you sleep until you're 18... Ah, think of the suffering you're gonna miss! I mean high school? High school - those are your prime suffering years. You don't get better suffering than that."
Okay, you get the point. Yesterday was my last day working as a bakery clerk, and I have to say it's left me feeling more nostalgic than relieved, as I would not have expected!
The other day, while watching the World Cup (of course), my mom made an interesting observation: the last time we were watching the World Cup, I had just graduated from middle school. The next time I will be watching the World Cup, I will probably be graduating from university. Not only was it strange to realize that the World Cup syncs perfectly with the timing of my graduations, it also gave me a little perspective. I can't remember any of the problems I was having in grade eight, though I'm sure they were numerous and probably seemed all-encompassing at the time. Having my life divided into chunks of four years just made some things seem so insignificant.
This past month, especially this past week, has evoked so many different emotions in me. This time, the end of grade 12, is a time of change. Most obvious, it is the end of high school - the end of my public education, which has been such a defining part of my life until now. It's the end of other, less significant things too, like my job at the bakery. It is also a time of beginnings. I often hear people talking about university as being the time when life really begins - that high school is just a time you have to get through, and once you're in university, BAM - life starts. I am also now officially an adult (though it doesn't really feel any different, in honesty) which means I should be taking control of my own life. For the first time I will be living alone, in a strange city, doing things when I want and because I want to.
When I think about my high school years, they have been a time of firsts and lasts, of beginnings and endings. A quote I've been thinking about recently links these two concepts together, from the song "Closing Time", by Semisonic: "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." Such a simple line, but oh so true.
Overall, I think high school has been a good experience. I have definitely learned a lot, not just academically, but about myself. I have been pushed to my limits academically and emotionally, and what I've discovered is that I am actually much stronger than I realized. I've made friends, grew apart from friends, and by doing so have discovered what kind of people I really want in my life. I've figured out what I'm interested in and what kind of things I hope to accomplish at some point in my life. There have definitely been good times and bad times, but the point remains that I have survived them.
Have you seen the movie Little Miss Sunshine? If not, you definitely should! There's a scene in it that really sums up the high school experience, in my opinion:
"Dwayne: I wish I could just sleep until I was eighteen and skip all this crap - high school and everything - just skip it.
Frank: Do you know who Marcel Proust is?
Dwayne: He's the guy you teach.
Frank: Yeah. French writer. Total loser. Never had a real job. Unrequited love affairs. Gay. Spent 20 years writing a book almost no one reads. But he's also probably the greatest writer since Shakespeare. Anyway, he gets down to the end of his life, and he looks back and decides that all those years he suffered, those were the best years of his life, 'cause they made him who he was. All those years he was happy? You know, total waste. Didn't learn a thing. So, if you sleep until you're 18... Ah, think of the suffering you're gonna miss! I mean high school? High school - those are your prime suffering years. You don't get better suffering than that."
Congrats on being done! I really enjoyed this post...everything you've said is so true! You will do wonderful at university!! :)
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