Now is our time to finish strong

The end is near. Don't worry; this is not about May 21 being Judgment day, or the end of the world. This concerns a day perhaps less controversial, but which is important nonetheless: graduation day, which marks the end of the school year.

River Valley High School's graduation this year will occur on June 2, the day when we officially say goodbye to the school around which most of our last four years have revolved and where we've made lasting memories.

After this and the summer vacation, we go out into the world and follow the path we've chosen in the previous few months. We have learned much in high school, but now it's time to make our own decisions and act as the adults we became when we turned 18.

The RVHS Senior Goodbye Rally was held on May 19. There, amidst roars of applause, students' plans for the near future were showcased in a slideshow. Some plan to go straight to four-year universities; some will go to community college and later transfer to a university; while others are undertaking an internship.

Looking at the slideshow, we seniors realized that we are indeed going to new and interesting places where we will not only learn more academically, but we will explore, make new friends and make a social net.

RVHS senior Prabhjot Aujla sums up most seniors' feelings when she said, "I'm super excited about going to U.C. Irvine. High school has been a great journey, but now I'm ready to go out and experience new things. I know, for sure, that I'll have a lot of fun!"

As we plan for the future, most of us worry about and are excited about college, jobs, internships, etc. Although we look forward to the future, we know that for some, it means leaving our family, which has been with us through 18 years of our life.

To our show appreciation for Mom, Dad and many others we'll be leaving behind, we recorded a senior appreciation video last week, which will be played during the Thank You lunch on Wednesday and during the graduation ceremony.

With just a few days left for senior year, it's hard to stay focused and realize that we still have finals coming up and that those grades can affect us tremendously. So although we might be excited about the senior trip, the graduation ceremony and the end of high school, it is to our advantage to keep it together for these last few days.

Recently, in a class, I heard a quote: "Start fast and finish strong," which really stuck to me. Although some of my classmates disagreed with the first part, everyone agreed that it is in our best interest if we do not slack off and that we "finish strong."

Sukhpreet Kaur is a senior at River Valley High School. This is her final column for Education.