Quiet… a gust of wind flows by, a breath is all that is heard. A figure once present, permanent like a statue, is now gone. I, a piece of Bearcat culture, am now gone. When I think about my past in Paso Robles High School, I become part of the atmosphere, part of the very air students breathe. Contemplating somewhat omniciently about all I have experienced, judging and looking down a bit at my high school, but I start to realize how lucky I’ve been to attend PRHS and get to have such amazing teachers, and that I still have much to learn throughout the rest of my education.
At this high school there is a graduation rate of 94%, and yet upon completing high school there is such a massive feeling of accomplishment. Though I haven’t quite experienced it yet, I have begun to feel my high school self separate from my mortal form. As I graduate, I leave behind a chunk of myself, a version of Nolan that my peers know and tolerate. Maturity is what I would call this experience, a growth of somesort, in both the sense that I myself am growing, and that this tumor-like growth called my teenage years is being removed.
What many of you may not know is that I truly feel sad that my high school career is ending, but it is overshadowed by an overall sense of happiness and relief, in many ways it means that my life is on the right track. I haven’t dropped out of high school, I’ve paid my dues. The fear of failing high school comes from statistics like, 75% of all crimes are commited by high school dropouts, only 6% of students won’t graduate from PRHS. Percentages like this that, for many, strike fear and motivate them to not be part of that low failing rate and to hopefully stay out of any legal trouble that could come their way should they flunk out.
Hopefully this will be the last conclusion I will ever write, my swan song if you will. I say goodbye to the deadlines, goodbye to the friends, goodbye to the teachers, mentors who truly helped me pave my road to success. I have completed my quest at Paso Robles Joint Unified School District, I blew up the death star, I destroyed the ring, I’ve slain the beast… I am done.
