This week marks the end of my twelve years at Horizon Honors. Even tonight, the eve of my last day, I am not sure that it has quite settled in. For those of us that have been at the school for a long time, going to college is not just leaving one home, but two. I have grown up in the walls of Horizon Honors, and I am who I am in part because of what the school has done for me. I have never made a change like this in my entire life, but I am confident that my school has successfully given me the skills that I need to succeed in life

I have never been one to say that I loved high school. Throughout the years, it seemed like an incredibly rough ride. The frustrating late nights seemed to be endless and I never knew if it was going to get better. Eventually, it did, and now I can look back and be thankful for everything I experienced. High school is about making mistakes and finding out who you are. My biggest self-evaluation didn’t come until my senior year, and I was able to learn a lot about myself. I now have a better grasp of who I am, and what type of life I want to live. Everyone is different, and finding yourself can be incredibly hard. I was able to see that the tough times were leading up to a great future.

I cannot accurately express how happy I am that I was able to attend Horizon Honors for high school. The older I grew, the more I understood how special the school really is. I have never seen another school that is as accepting as Horizon Honors is. Everyone has friends from every aspect of life, and I truly believe that we are willing to accept each other. I know that if I had chosen another school, I would never have had the support that I got from the people at this school. Everyone is truly amazing.

If I’ve learned anything from high school, it’s that everyone has something special to offer. There is always something to learn from people that you couldn’t have taught yourself. Taking the time out of your day to talk to someone can be one of the best decisions of your life. Some of my greatest high school memories are the results of random conversations that turn into so much more. Appreciate those around you, because you never know what they can teach you.

Instead of saying goodbye to people, I want to say thank you. Thank you to everyone who has been in any way involved in my high school life. It doesn’t matter how small the involvement was, everything mattered, and I can assure you that I took note of it. Thank you for letting me be my crazy self and giving me a place where I belonged. Thank you for believing in me when I couldn’t myself. Thank you for the random nice comments and hugs when I was sad. Thank you for being people that I could look up to.

Thank you for all that you’ve taught me.

Thank your for everything.

Lauren Arenas