2. Senior Year
On Friday, I graduated from high school.
It was very emotional for me, much more than I expected it to be. It wasn't because of the actual ceremony, but rather because of the people.
Early this school year (probably around October), I was bored in study hall, so the next day I decided to bring some cards to play. I asked a classmate who I knew decently well whether she wanted to learn how to play Canasta, a variation of rummy that my mom taught me how to play when I was ten years old. It's one of the classic old person games, and prior to the beginning of this year the only person I knew who both knew how to play Canasta and was under the age of 50 was my sister, and she doesn't really play cards much anymore. So I thought that maybe I could start playing it with some people at school. I taught one person how to play, and then a couple of my friends saw us playing and were interested. Since then, I have brought cards to school every day, and the cases got destroyed from being in my backpack for most of the year. But we played often, and all of my friends who were previously not very connected with one another grew increasingly close because of cards. I became more comfortable with inviting them all over to my house to play in my front porch, and they all developed close bonds. After graduation I told them individually how much they all meant to me, in several long paragraphs, while crying quietly in my bedroom. I knew that I would cry at some point this month, but I never knew when, and it felt right that it was at the very end, while I was expressing how much I've grown this year. I know that I will spend more time with them this summer, but the transition to college will be tough. I might make a separate topic about that at some point as it draws nearer, because none of my friends from my class will be there, but I now hopefully have the skills to be more social and find friends who are like me.
It was very emotional for me, much more than I expected it to be. It wasn't because of the actual ceremony, but rather because of the people.
Early this school year (probably around October), I was bored in study hall, so the next day I decided to bring some cards to play. I asked a classmate who I knew decently well whether she wanted to learn how to play Canasta, a variation of rummy that my mom taught me how to play when I was ten years old. It's one of the classic old person games, and prior to the beginning of this year the only person I knew who both knew how to play Canasta and was under the age of 50 was my sister, and she doesn't really play cards much anymore. So I thought that maybe I could start playing it with some people at school. I taught one person how to play, and then a couple of my friends saw us playing and were interested. Since then, I have brought cards to school every day, and the cases got destroyed from being in my backpack for most of the year. But we played often, and all of my friends who were previously not very connected with one another grew increasingly close because of cards. I became more comfortable with inviting them all over to my house to play in my front porch, and they all developed close bonds. After graduation I told them individually how much they all meant to me, in several long paragraphs, while crying quietly in my bedroom. I knew that I would cry at some point this month, but I never knew when, and it felt right that it was at the very end, while I was expressing how much I've grown this year. I know that I will spend more time with them this summer, but the transition to college will be tough. I might make a separate topic about that at some point as it draws nearer, because none of my friends from my class will be there, but I now hopefully have the skills to be more social and find friends who are like me.