Goodbye: Just one wave in a sea of hellos

Graduation is a time for saying goodbye to our childhood and high school friends and saying hello to our futures, our hopes and our dreams.

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next."

This quote by Gilda Radner describes the sentiment that many of the graduates of Gridley High School are feeling. Many of us look at graduation as the end of the past, but in reality, it is only the beginning of the rest of our lives.

Most of us at GHS have grown up together since kindergarten. We spent every week together through McKinley, Wilson, Sycamore, Manzanita and now high school. We all know each other's faces, and we have become friends over the years. We know each other's moods and when someone is upset. We have become a family to each other.

However, now we have to leave the nest and fly to different places in order to grow into the adults we hope to become. We are forced to grow up and move to a different city or state to begin our journey. Although starting out on our own is very scary, we must swallow our nerves and have courage, for "The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure." — Sven Goran Eriksson.

Trying new things is scary and unfamiliar, but it's necessary to grow. Eleanor Roosevelt said: "Do one thing every day that scares you." To do something new and different is the only way one can grow as a person, for how can one grow and change if we are not willing to take risks? Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.

Graduation is the new and scary act that we, as graduates, must now undertake. We have come so far in our lives together. We have finished learning our ABC's and numbers, how to read and write, building the missions of California, roller coasters, and volcanoes that spew lava, cursive, essays and poetry, algebra and geometry, "Romeo and Juliet," Greek mythology, reading and analyzing "The Jungle" and "The Bell Jar."

We have been there for each other through everything imaginable. But now we must leave our homes and our friends to live our lives. The theme for our graduation is: "The sunset of a beautiful past is the sunrise of a bright tomorrow." This best describes our feelings as seniors and the rewards and risks that lie ahead of us.

We are all anxious and excited for our future, and I know that we will succeed in our dreams and hopes. I know that this goodbye is only one wave in a sea of hellos.

Holly Anderson is a senior at Gridley High School. This is her final column for the Education section.