Graduation: caps and gowns and tears and high heels and many, many photos. The tension. The excitement. The never-ending wonder of how your life will turn out after it’s all said and done. You’ve been waiting for this day since you started to create your own ambitions, constantly altering them since your kindergarten year. It’s also a scary thought. You’ll have to decide where you want your career path to follow…pretty much the millisecond after you’re given your diploma. You’ll have to start doing a lot on your own, like supplying yourself with food, making sure you get up in time for class and transporting yourself from your dorm to your classroom.

According to students, there are “good” and “bad” aspects about graduating from high school. Both the good and bad are beneficial. Contrary to what some believe, the “bad” promotes personal growth.

“I’m excited about being able to start life on my own,” junior Logan McCloskey said. “However, I’m not ready to be away from my friends or family just yet.”

Moving away from the people you are close to is hard, whether you move away a long distance or not. Nonetheless, you learn how to be more independent when you go to college.

“I’ll be honest, I’m not too excited about leaving Texarkana because I have a lot of family and friends here and it’s a scary thought to be somewhere all by myself,” senior Kaitlyn McKinley said. “But I know that it’s something I have to do to be my own person and while it’s a big drawback of going off to college, I know it’ll all be worth it in the end.”

College may look scary and it may even be scary at first, but it’s all healthy. Not only do you learn to take care of yourself more, but you also meet new people and make new memories.

“I’m excited about meeting new people because it’ll give me a chance to meet more diverse people and to hear more opinions and ideas about the world,” McKinley said. “I’m also excited about making new memories because they’ll be the first memories of my adult life which is really fun to think about.”

Graduation comes in an instant. One second you’re a freshman in high school, arriving to new experiences. The next second, you’re a few days away from moving into college. The last four years seem like a blur, a faint memory. College is the beginning of the rest of your life.

“I’m glad I still have a little time to cherish the memories I’ll make these next two school years,” junior Logan McCloskey said. “But I’m starting to realize just how quickly time flies.”