Just Another High School Story!

"Goodness gracious, I'm nervous as hell." she started with a smile, as her eyes searched the crowd, she saw familiar faces, people she had bumped into, played on the court with, her group, kids who had helped her through thick and thin, then she looked at her boyfriend, the love of her life, who was patiently waiting below the stage, they were really close to each other, so naturally she could see him up close, with a warmth that overwhelmed her, she continued without stopping, "Congratulations to everyone present here, the parents, the kids, the teachers, our principal, everyone, the staff, congratulations, and thank you to you all, you made my high school life interesting and beautiful in a way that I cannot explain. We all feel emotional today, I know we do, but seriously, guys, we did a great job. We deserve an applause!" Everyone started clapping after she did. "To start now, I would like to reintroduce myself, you know me as Leah, I would like to introduce myself as Barfie, the girl who was lucky enough to be your Head Girl for a while, I know you must be wondering why I'm embracing an identity that took away 'titles' from me, titles like 'Head Girl', 'Girlfriend', 'The Perfect One', 'Cool Girl' or 'Miss Pop', right? Well, I found the answer through embracing my weaknesses, I found the answer to the question as to who I am after asking myself, and realising I didn't know, maybe, I still don't, maybe, I never will."

"We are at a stage of our life, when we are supposed to become responsible, 'grow up', as some may say, and does that growing up contain pain? Is growing up easy or hard? No one clearly lays the rules for down us, they don't give us a mind map, they haven't drawn out a course we can follow, they tell us to become adults, but what exactly is an adult, how are they different from what we are, how are we supposed to just 'grow up'? Is it like metamorphosis, will we grow wings, or something? The answer is-- and this is what breathes life into life, its complexity-- you don't really have to do anything. Weird, huh? All this talk about responsibility, and sobering up, finding what you like, and trying to achieve more, trying to fill your bank accounts, but the truth which I can tell you, cross my heart, probably, because I haven't 'grown up', is that you don't have to grow up; we're so worried about things falling apart, and so we keep trying to set them right, hoping that we can control what will happen; eventually though, without wanting to, we end up ruining the whole picture."

"How can you put together puzzle pieces when you don't even have a reference, nothing you're recreating, rather, your life is a puzzle which is falling into place on its own, through some unique force, it's hard for us to relinquish control, I know, I mean, if you're not choosing everything you do, it seems unnatural. But, harsh as it may be, it's just as comforting, you can't control everything, so you shouldn't have to worry about everything beforehand either, it's not fair. Why should you? Why should I? We're heading to college, it seems to me that some of us are, anyway, and others aren't, they might find other things to do, things they think are better suited to their preferences, and abilities; there might be others who want to explore all possibilities. There are so many different types of people sitting here right now, looking at me with expectations, and I'm sorry, I can't tell you if you're going to be driving a Mercedes in a couple of days, but I can tell you that we own this moment. I'm well aware of the fact that what I just said seems worthless, but before we allow ourselves to go bald worrying about the fact that college lies ahead, let's take a deep breath of appreciation, you've made it through high school, it doesn't matter what happened here anymore, does it? You don't care that you've tripped in the school grounds a hundred times, you don't care if you've been laughed at, we're sad that we're leaving behind this place-- our home.

"If someone asked us when we had just started school whether we'd like to spend

, you don't hang to burst your bubble, and fall into trouble, nope, you are unique, a flower with an irreplaceable fragrance, and a unique floral formula, a flower that might be hidden under a shadow or alit by sunshine, just know that no matter what side you are on, we all have our 'moments', moments when the sun shines on us, and so does the shade, moments when we feel like we are worthless, and moments that makes us feel proud of ourselves. There is no scale that can measure your value, your appearance, your hair, your face, your 'beauty', your name, your body, your situation, your desperation, things you cannot control, these things do not dictate the terms for you or how much you deserve; as you know, 'Barfie', it is a play at the word barbie, but the 'f' is there because I used to eat like a pig, and puke it all out, not caring about what the consequences would be, I did that to myself, burned my oesophagus, put myself in pain. But if you ask me now, I am thankful, if not for the pain, I wouldn't be who I am today, I found out who I was through a beautiful, painful, tearful journey, a journey that I thought had no destination, sometimes, even walking around without a destination can make you feel better though, you count stars and miles, that helps too... if you are a wanderer, or a walker, you will know, but know that no matter who you are, we all are both sometimes, like two clouds carved into one another, we are lucky, really lucky, since we have both strengths, and weaknesses, that means we have the ways to choose our destination even if we are wanderers.

As we move on in our lives, and scatter, we will often remember the times that we spent together, the times that we fought or played, or partied and got caught, or captivated in moments, we will derive strength from past experiences, break down, make mistakes, don't ever stop making mistakes, if you do you will stop growing, you don't have to worry about becoming an adult, some people bloom early while others bloom late, some cry too much, while others don't cry at all, we are all different but there is one thing that I am sure about, we all have hearts, hearts that are filled with love, therefore, as you go through this walk of life, try everything you want, fail and get back up to try something new, don't worry about consequences, and don't hold back, we all have something we are passionate about, don't worry if you haven't found it yet, college isn't the dead end, it is just another mile in our long walk, you will stumble through some of the way, and run through some, no matter how, we will all reach our goals, goals that might come after we have turned fifty, and can't see much from our eyes, maybe your heart will be your guide then, there is no age to dream, to change, to learn, do not ever let the fear of 'what will they say' hold you back. What they think is their business, what you do, that is yours!

Lastly, I've written a poem to reminisce old times, and cheer you on for new, I hope you guys will find something inspiring in it:

A long way I've walked, I wasn't born yesterday,

A tiring journey I've had, I still showed up today,

In a world of no passion, and wilting vigour,

A world that, as time goes by, grows bigger,

I've lived a lot, yet there's another today,

I have stopped, but gotten back up midday,

First protected by her womb, then forced to face it,

We get hurt, we cry, eyes with tears, a first aid kit,

A blooming flower faces a shadow,

Even if the barrel falls, there is still a barrow.

Now, we have succeeded and need to step up,

We feel melted, like candle stub,

Yet we were born to burn,

Like wheels churn,

Even if you fall, don't cry,

Because we have wings to fly,

You can always be a child,

Drive your parents mad, be wild,

Keep calm, all that matters is a smile,

This did not work out, that will, with style,

Roll up your sleeves, this class is amazing,

Sweeter than salt, stupendous like stargazing,

Don't lose hope, hard work dos pay,

If it doesn't, there is another way,

Try to find who you are in college,

Knowing yourself is eternal knowledge.

I hope that we meet again when we've become--

Who we dreamed we'd be, through ways, cumbersome,

You have worked hard, I'm proud, so is the sun,

The universe supports you to run,

Run towards your dream, rise and shine,

When you feel tired, it's okay, just whine,

Try your best, it's that simple ,

Like a lucky lady's wimple!"

When she finished, everyone was finally in tears, and she finished in tears too, "Guys, I'll miss you, I'll miss our school, everything, all our moments, good and bad, I've learnt a lot, I'm really thankful for all of you. Farewell!" Then tears started falling though she did not want to cry at first, but she would definitely miss it, her high school days were over, the drama and the karma, it was all done and over with, she had made so many memories and learnt so much. No matter how hard, they were all here, they had made it, they had fought and won, dealt with pressure, and conquered it, some were still left with fears, but life is pretty long, if you actually live it.