It seemed that the theme of my day today was memories. Memories were made, I looked back on old memories, and I thought of what my future might hold for me and the memorable experiences that lie ahead. I guess this kind of thing always happens with graduations and milestone life events, but it was a pretty unusual feeling to me.
It all started at 5:10 this morning when I woke up to be at school at 5:30 for a little senior campout on the front lawn. That was a really fun time of bonding with my fellow seniors in the class of 2012, many of whom I may never see again. It was a good way to start our last full day of school. While that was fun, perhaps even more memorable events occurred later on in the day. Throughout the day, stinkbombs were released all around the school, giving the building that awful scent of rotten eggs. Another funny prank pulled by seniors, but that wasn’t all. Lunch rolled around and all was well and going as usual until about 20-30 minutes into lunch. At that point, a massive food fight had broken out in the cafeteria. Again—started by your own class of 2012. After these shenanigans the whole school was punished and lunch was cut short, forcing students to go to their 7th period class. After a while students became disgruntled and supposedly attempted to start a “riot” like the one at FHS in May of 2008. Due to the threat of “riot” students were held in 7th period for the remainder of the day. Rumors swirled in social media about cops being at the school and even the SWAT team. None of the supposed rumors were true. However, when school FINALLY let out, someone decided to pull the fire alarm…the perfect icing on the cake that was today. When things like that happen you never forget, it was a memory made. While I didnt take part in the food fight, fire alarm, or stink bombs…the day was still a memorable one for everyone, particularly those of us in the senior class. We went out with a real bang.
Next was my looking back on old memories. After school when my Dad got home, he kept making me mad for whatever reason…I really don’t know why. Anyways, I decided to take a bike ride around my neighborhood to clear my head. I have lived in the same neighborhood my whole life…so I have a lot of memories stored up all around here. I first biked by the pool. The swim team was doing pre-season workouts and suddenly I remembered all of my memories from swim team. I spent a good portion of my life and summers swimming. From age 5 to 14…9 years I spent on the cottonwood pirates. I loved swim team…it was a great way for me to bond with my neighborhood peers. The next part of the neighborhood I hit was my old street. I have so many memories on that street it’s not even funny. In my old house, I was surrounded by kids my age. The memories flooded back like it was just yesterday. Countless games of German spotlight; Gamecube, Nintendo, Gameboy, and sleepovers at the Davis’; Playstation, backyard baseball, and watergun fights at the Farmers’; all of my brothers old friends whom I looked up to so much; and especially my awesome neighbors that didn’t have children my age. I loved that house, that street, and everything about it. I realized how much I missed it, and how much I would miss my neighborhood when I moved on to college, and eventually another place in life.
After taking a trip down memory lane, I decided to go back by the clubhouse and ride my bike along the trail in the woods. I love to go back there because I always find it an excellent spot for reflection and a place to clear my head. On the way I saw cottonwood old timers the Campbells and Hamptons playing tennis, and that was nice. But the best thing was going back to the trails and the common ground where I spent so many days of my youth. It always feels good to go back there…especially on a beautiful day like today. What I mainly found myself doing there was thinking about my present and what the future holds for me. I am extremely excited to move on to another stage in my life, but at the same time I’m really worried about how I will hold up in college and the “real world”. I feel like I’m ready, but I feel like I’m not exactly prepared. Any time someone tells me about how I’m going to have a successful future and that I’ll go far, I can’t help but say to myself, “Really?! Me?! The lazy kid who has never held a job in his life and lacked the determination to work hard and get exemptions? You can’t be serious. I don’t even know if I’ll have enough money to get through my first semester of college, or the determination and study skills to pass.” It sucks. I wish I had better work ethic, a respectable work resume, and a better sense of responsibility. I suppose those things are really trivial when there are kids dying all around the world, but it really bothers me sometimes. I guess I just have to try my best and just roll with whatever happens. This is an exciting, but scary time, but only because of the uncertainty. I am pumped to start this new chapter of my life. I’m ready to make more memories
I feel so damn old writing this, but it’s really been on my mind lately. So here it is. The latest novel from Kevin Higgins.
