By Whitney-Marie Halaby

The end of high school is rapidly approaching, and here I sit writing the most personal piece I will ever write in The Warrior that 2,000 people can read. But this is my chance to leave a mark, so leave a mark I shall.

I remember my first day of high school, everything seemed so big, the school, the teachers, especially the security guards, and now it all just seem like part of my every day routine. I told myself that I was going to be somebody. I was going to be a varsity athlete (don’t ask me where I got that idea from), I was going to make straight A’s, find myself, find myself a solid group of friends and start liking “popular music” that so many other kids liked.

Well, life took a different course. I never was a varsity athlete, I played one year of JV soccer and it was the best six weeks of my high school career. I got sick and wasn’t able to play the next year.

As far as straight As go … never happened. Not even close.

And finding myself? I’m more lost than I was the first day of high school and now I’m about to embark on a whole new adventure. I still know so little about myself, which used to bother me. I thought I had to have everything figured out, but now I realize I don’t.

My happiness no longer comes from expensive clothes and excessive likes on my Instagram pictures (don’t get me wrong, they are quite the confidence-booster). I instead find happiness with my friends, the people who have never left my side no matter how emotional, irrational and crazy I get, they are what matter to me now, them and my music. I’ve always wanted to be accepted, and I think in a sense everyone does. I’ve found a group of girls (most of whom are Asian, we’ve created our own little melting pot) to accept me and like me for who I am, most of the time, and for me that is good enough.

My music gives me a temporary escape from all the bull**** around me. As far as “popular” music goes … I never got much into popular music. Instead I’ve found that my happiness lies in pop-punk, post hardcore, etc. I cannot leave Sherwood without mentioning The Used, a pop-punk group that saved my life. I found their music at a time when I needed something to calm my soul and give me an escape, and that it did, for that I am forever indebted to them.

Goodbye, Sherwood. Goodbye, people who constantly filled up my social network feeds, but I’ve never actually spoken a word to. Hello caffeine-fueled all nighters. Hello, crazy roommates. Hello, new experiences. Hello, learning things I’ll actually use in my life.