Last Thursday, candles were lit. It's a seemingly simple thing when you don't consider the meaning of the candle-lighting ceremony. It means we have embarked upon a new chapter of life. It means that we have gone from being the class of 2016 to the senior class of 2016.
It's marked by responsibilities and opportunities. It's the final chapter. We have nearly finalized our book. Most of us have lived 17 years and have written 17 chapters of our book. In our 18th chapters, we will write stories of adventure and excitement, we will write stories of love and the love for God, and inevitably we will write sad and sorrowful stories.
There was no dearth of emotion for me during Thursday's chapel. I think the primary feelings I had were feelings of joy and excitement and feelings of sadness and anxiety.
I love the idea of becoming seniors and can't wait to experience all that senior year has to offer, but I'm also saddened because at this point next year, most of us will be departing from this school and, in a way, departing from each other.
When my feelings were heightened, or "when I was in my feels" as some would say, I made a promise to myself to work hard and do everything in my power to ensure that we have an amazing senior year.
I hope that the amazing journey of senior year which we are about to embark on will be one that lives in our memories forever, so that we will truly never all leave each other. We may leave physically, but in memory we will always be together.