, Research Paper
The Best Years of my Life
Descriptive essay written by Amy Retterath
From the time we were born until now, so many amazing things have accumulated in our brains and in our hearts. Everyday is a new adventure in which new memories are created. Some things slowly fade with time, but the more important things stay forever vividly pungent in our minds. I believe that the memories that are made in high school are the ones that will undoubtedly be kept close with you for the rest of your life.
Our senior year is definitely going to be the best year we’ve had yet. It is overflowing with wonderful things. The many events we have attended and the many more to come make our faces seem to stretch wide with happiness, but yet, deep down, I know it breaks our heart to think about it. Our emotions and feelings of this year seem to send us on a tremendous roller coaster ride. Everything is so joyous it’s over whelming as our whole class seems to come together and take advantage of everything. At the same time, it’s the end. Things we will do this year, we will never again in our life do the same. For instance, our last homecoming dance, our last prom, our last football game and even the last year to share a dinner with our friends in the noisy, yet relaxing lunchroom.
We recently had our last home football game. It didn’t occur to me until I viewed in the distance one of my fellow players and friends sitting in the middle of the field by him self. He was wrapped tightly in a blanket and seemed to be very snug with his thoughts. As I approached him, I noticed that he had been crying. He explained to me his love for football and the emotional drama behind knowing that he had just played the last game he would every play for his high school on that familiar field. He’ll miss the small things such as the sound of the riled crowd chanting in the distance and the smell of the crisp cold air upon his frostbitten face as he confidently ran against the wind. It was than that all the feelings I had tucked deep away within myself seemed to all at once pile on top of me, making me realize what I had to face ahead of me. My friend and I sat on the well-known field and talked for what seemed to be hours about old times, reliving all of our best and worst moments. I think that leaving that field was one of the hardest things he will ever
I look back at the pictures of my elementary classmates. Their faces seemed so innocent and content with the world. If we only knew the many troubles and stresses that growing up would bring to us. As a child, our biggest worries were bee stings and detention. Now, we face applying for college, scholarships, financial aid and all the many more stresses that college brings us. I wish I could forever remain a peaceful and worry-free child with nothing but the smile on my face and the warmth in my heart to keep me going everyday. Since I know that this dream is not within my reach, I will learn to live with what lies ahead of me and take the challenge of life one day at a time.
I am unfortunately not as lucky as my friends to say that I have one fun filled summer left before I start to conquer the real world. The summer that lies ahead of me will not be spent indulging in the warm sun at the lake or drinking cool lemonade while relaxing on my deck. I will not be there to participate in the far away senior trips or the late night senior parties. Instead, I will be working long, hot days learning to save lives during time of war and struggle. I’m not saying that what I will experience won’t be far more rewarding than spending my summer taking a break. My summer will indefinitely prepare me for my future in many ways, but the thought of being the first one to say goodbye makes me sick. I will be leaving immediately after graduation. Who knows where everyone will be when I return. The one thing that keeps me going on this subject is the thought of having my best friend with me the whole way. We defeated basic training together and will hopefully conquer AIT as a pair also. Having someone as close as family with you to encourage you every step of the way makes things unbelievably more accomplishable.
The saying “Carpe Diem” is something that I remind myself often. It means “Seize the Day”. I’ve decided that since this is my last year in high school, I’m not going to sit back and think about what I could or want to do. Instead, I’m going to do it, plain and simple. I believe that we all have to take advantage of this year and let nothing hold us back from what we truly want. I will always remember being in elementary school and hearing my mom telling me that high school is the best years of your life. I never understood or believed her until now.