There are many moments in life that are so wonderful that you just want to close your eyes and thank God for blessing you with such an amazing memory and for making you feel so happy. It is a moment so beautiful that it brings tears to your eyes, tears of sadness and tears of joy.
Graduation.
This past weekend, I graduated high school. I've got to say it was a big moment for me. No, not because I didn't think I'd graduate high school but because I was surprised that I had gotten through it and finished it with a happy ending.
As I recall my four years of high school, I realize how different and CRAZY they were. They SO were full of ups and downs that I'm surprised I'm still standing on my feet right now. I didn't feel like I had a strong group of friends around me until my sophomore year. And then I had to move away from them. And make completely new friends during the most crucial year of my high school career. It was so difficult, SO freaking hard to open up to new people, which is partly why I'm so surprised at the place that I am in now. It's not that the people around me didn't want to be friends with me. It was me. I was the problem. It was hard to accept the idea of having to teach people about me all over again and start from zero. At time, I didn't want to even try anymore. I just wanted to get through high school and graduate.
I'm glad I didn't continue with that mindset.
I ended high school with many milestones. During high school, I discovered my love for writing, grew confident and proud in my own skin, and accomplished goals I only dreamed of accomplishing. Here's a moment I'd love to share: the day I won Outstanding Senior of the Year.
As I think of that moment, I still get goosebumps and my eyes even tear up. Why? Because I didn't expect it. AT ALL. I thought the person who'd get it would be the valedictorian or salutatorian at my school because, hey, aren't they usually the most outstanding? But when I won it, I became sure of something. I understood that I could be myself and live the way I want to live and still be successful! I thought that you had to be popular to be liked, or have great hair and a hot body to be considered beautiful. I thought you had to go to parties and dances and be friends with the "right people" to not be considered a social outcast. And I hadn't been that person. I didn't follow the "norm". I didn't go to Prom, I wasn't considered the most popular, and I didn't show a lot of skin or straightened my hair every morning.
Instead, I was an Arab Muslim girl with a white headscarf and some kind of pink outfit. I didn't watch the Jersey Shore or keep up with the Kardashians. I didn't wear a ton of make-up or had a boyfriend. And I promise you, being this way was not like committing social suicide.
At the end of my senior year, I found that I had a trustworthy and loyal group of friends who'd left me amazingly heartfelt messages in my yearbook about how much they admired my personality and how I had inspired them by not being ashamed of who I was.
One of my teachers, who I really looked up to and wanted to look smart and intelligent in front of, once spoke of me as being a very confident person who showed the underclassmen that it was okay to be different. Having him say that was better than a million other things, especially since it came from someone who I always wanted to look confident in front of. He was the kind of teacher who told us to defend our opinions and never be ashamed of being ourselves. I loved that I had followed what he'd taught us for so long.
So as I walked into the gym in front of the two thousand family members on graduation day and walked among my classmates, the only girl in a white headscarf and clearly visible among the crowd, I walked proudly. I walked confidently with the people who had slowly grown on me and made me stronger everyday, either by challenging me or caring about me. I smiled because it was the only way to express that I had accomplished more than I thought I would. Yeah, I got good grades and stuff, but that wasn't what I was the most proud of.
I was proud of the fact that I had stood up for myself and because despite the difficulties high school threw at me, I made it and ended it the way I wanted it to end and better.
So here's something to remember and I know it's such a cliche: High school is what you make of it. If you want to finish high school pretending to be someone you're not, that's how you will end it. And you will most likely not be happy with that final result when you look back at it. However, if you are just honest with everyone and with yourself, no matter how hard it may be, you'll be more proud to look back and say, "That's who I was in high school."
Your dreams can be accomplished. You just have to want to accomplish them.
-Wishful Dreamer
Graduation.
This past weekend, I graduated high school. I've got to say it was a big moment for me. No, not because I didn't think I'd graduate high school but because I was surprised that I had gotten through it and finished it with a happy ending.
As I recall my four years of high school, I realize how different and CRAZY they were. They SO were full of ups and downs that I'm surprised I'm still standing on my feet right now. I didn't feel like I had a strong group of friends around me until my sophomore year. And then I had to move away from them. And make completely new friends during the most crucial year of my high school career. It was so difficult, SO freaking hard to open up to new people, which is partly why I'm so surprised at the place that I am in now. It's not that the people around me didn't want to be friends with me. It was me. I was the problem. It was hard to accept the idea of having to teach people about me all over again and start from zero. At time, I didn't want to even try anymore. I just wanted to get through high school and graduate.
I'm glad I didn't continue with that mindset.
I ended high school with many milestones. During high school, I discovered my love for writing, grew confident and proud in my own skin, and accomplished goals I only dreamed of accomplishing. Here's a moment I'd love to share: the day I won Outstanding Senior of the Year.
As I think of that moment, I still get goosebumps and my eyes even tear up. Why? Because I didn't expect it. AT ALL. I thought the person who'd get it would be the valedictorian or salutatorian at my school because, hey, aren't they usually the most outstanding? But when I won it, I became sure of something. I understood that I could be myself and live the way I want to live and still be successful! I thought that you had to be popular to be liked, or have great hair and a hot body to be considered beautiful. I thought you had to go to parties and dances and be friends with the "right people" to not be considered a social outcast. And I hadn't been that person. I didn't follow the "norm". I didn't go to Prom, I wasn't considered the most popular, and I didn't show a lot of skin or straightened my hair every morning.
Instead, I was an Arab Muslim girl with a white headscarf and some kind of pink outfit. I didn't watch the Jersey Shore or keep up with the Kardashians. I didn't wear a ton of make-up or had a boyfriend. And I promise you, being this way was not like committing social suicide.
At the end of my senior year, I found that I had a trustworthy and loyal group of friends who'd left me amazingly heartfelt messages in my yearbook about how much they admired my personality and how I had inspired them by not being ashamed of who I was.
One of my teachers, who I really looked up to and wanted to look smart and intelligent in front of, once spoke of me as being a very confident person who showed the underclassmen that it was okay to be different. Having him say that was better than a million other things, especially since it came from someone who I always wanted to look confident in front of. He was the kind of teacher who told us to defend our opinions and never be ashamed of being ourselves. I loved that I had followed what he'd taught us for so long.
So as I walked into the gym in front of the two thousand family members on graduation day and walked among my classmates, the only girl in a white headscarf and clearly visible among the crowd, I walked proudly. I walked confidently with the people who had slowly grown on me and made me stronger everyday, either by challenging me or caring about me. I smiled because it was the only way to express that I had accomplished more than I thought I would. Yeah, I got good grades and stuff, but that wasn't what I was the most proud of.
I was proud of the fact that I had stood up for myself and because despite the difficulties high school threw at me, I made it and ended it the way I wanted it to end and better.
So here's something to remember and I know it's such a cliche: High school is what you make of it. If you want to finish high school pretending to be someone you're not, that's how you will end it. And you will most likely not be happy with that final result when you look back at it. However, if you are just honest with everyone and with yourself, no matter how hard it may be, you'll be more proud to look back and say, "That's who I was in high school."
Your dreams can be accomplished. You just have to want to accomplish them.
-Wishful Dreamer
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