By Josslyn Caskey
Staff writer
“The show must go on said the sun, life does not stop for anybody” -Rupi Karu
To the class of 2023, we did it. We’re graduating high school.
In 2019, we walked onto El Diamante’s campus for the first time, a little scared but excited for a new beginning. As freshmen, we were seen as fresh meat, little kids, or just overall annoying. Getting lost trying to find our classes, fear of being late to class. But no one talks about the joys and firsts of your freshman year. The first football game, first dance, first real final, first real group of friends. Even though we were cut short of our freshman year we pushed through we can all say we lived through a notional pandemic.
Sophomore year, for many the hardest year mentally. Instead of walking to classes with friends, we crawled from our beds to our Chromebooks and logged into our classes. Black screens and silence. For months that was our lives. IIsolated from the outside world. Coming back was a weird walk on one side of the halls, don’t sit too close to someone. “Are you track A or track B”. The pandemic forced us all to grow a little slower but we grew nonetheless.
Junior year was personally my hardest year mentally and physically, yet I learned and grew the most. Classes were challenging, and grades mattered the most. It was at this point that I had reached rock bottom. Disguised by laughter, smiles, and what I thought was love was all a facade. I even considered quitting the one thing that truly made me happy.
The senior year went by too quickly. So many emotions, some happy and some sad. No one likes to think about the last’s, or if we’ll ever see that person after graduation. All running away from the small town we “hate” but in reality, we’re leaving behind the family we carefully constructed over the last thirteen years. Leaving all we know, to create something new. It’s exciting but terrifying. In just three months will look back as no longer seniors but freshmen once again. For me, I’ll be looking back at all the memories I made with my close friends. And think back to the work I did over the last four years. Thank you to the ones who stayed and who supported me throughout the years. Thank you to the ones who helped me grow and blossom into who I am today. I wish you all the best.
Congratulations to the class of 2023!