And so, this is how high school ends: not with a bang, but with a whimper.

Today was the last official page, thus far, in the volume that has been my 12 years of education. In short, it’s been a blast. Despite all the late nights, tight deadlines, heavy backpacks, and grueling tests, I wouldn’t trade my high school experience for anything. I suppose I have taken my peers for granted, but they are truly a remarkable group of people. Together, we’ve crossed oceans, defied the odds, worked tirelessly, shaped our corner of the world, and generally learned the rules of life.

The lyrics are right. “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” But, it is truly heartbreaking to say adieu to some awesome folks. We are quirky, we are stubborn, we are hilarious, but we are real. We are the class of 2003. I suppose sadness at this juncture is an indication that we did things right: despite the friction, the end result truly has been warmth.

Another turning point

A fork stuck in the road

Time grabs you by the wrist

Directs you where to go

So make the best of this test

And don?t ask why

It?s not a question

But a lesson learned in time

It’s something unpredictable

But in the end is right

I hope you had the time of your life

So take the photographs

And still frames in your mind

Hang it on a shelf of

Good health and good time

Tattoos of memories

And dead skin on trial

For what it?s worth

It was worth all the while

It’s something unpredictable

But in the end is right

I hope you had the time of your life

Green Day | Good Riddance

Today, I’m writing from Louisville, Kentucky. I’ve come here to accept a scholarship from the Toyota Community Scholars Program. When I think of Kentucky, I usually think of a podunk hicksville trailer park, but I’m quite wrong. Louisville is a city of half the population of Colorado Springs, but I would rate it as twice as nice. Where they got the money for such a city, I do not know. Perhaps the Mayor is involved in the illicit gopher skinning business.

I just checked in to my room at the Seelbach Hilton. This place is simply amazing. Eight presidents have stayed here and the facilities are really mind boggling in terms of their exquisiteness. I think it hit more for me when I got a Sprite in a genuine glass bottle. I didn’t know those still existed.

For those literary-types out there, you might remember this hotel from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald referred to the Seelback when his characters, Tom Buchanan and Daisy, were married in Louisville.

So, that is it for now. Time to go socialize with the other 99 scholarship recipients. Hopefully, I’ll be keeping this updated in the days to come.