The end of the school year means different things for different people. For the seniors, it means the culmination of four years of this experience we call “High School”; it’s a bittersweet farewell to the familiar halls and faces of high school, as they prepare to embark on new adventures beyond graduation. For juniors, it means the start of the end of that very same experience. For the underclassmen, it means entering another summer, crossing off another year. For teachers, it’s another milestone in their professional careers, another year of shaping young minds, and, for some, a step closer to retirement. For some of us, it means a transition to a new phase of life. For the community, it symbolizes 100 years of graduating classes who went on into the world, each having left their mark on the world in their own unique way.
Of course, for all of us, it is the end. Some ends are bigger than others: more consequential, more terrifying, more unexpected. Some feel expected, others feel shocking. But regardless, the end is here. There’s no slowing down time, regardless of how we feel or what we want.
But the end brings with it opportunities. Opportunities to reflect on the past, whether that is the last hundred years or simply the last four. It is a chance to reflect on the food we ate, the sports we played, the classes we took. It is a chance to reflect on ourselves, on who we are, and how we got there. It is a chance to reflect on the people we’ve surrounded ourselves with: the ones we shared classes with, the ones we befriended, the ones we loved.
Perhaps most importantly, we reflect on ourselves—the individuals we were when we first stepped through those school doors, and the individuals we’ve become as we prepare to step beyond them. We trace the contours of our growth, acknowledging the challenges we’ve overcome, the lessons we’ve learned, and the values we’ve embraced. In doing so, we gain clarity and insight into our own identity, laying the foundation for the paths we’ll tread in the future.
Reflection is important. It can teach us lessons and can help us take stock. It helps us to appreciate what has been, and to ground ourselves for the future—a particularly important step, because the end isn’t just the end; it is also the beginning. The beginning of a future filled with opportunity.
So as this year comes to a close, take the time to reflect. Appreciate the past, and ground yourself for the future. And as you walk out the doors on the last day of school, whether for the thousandth time or the last, appreciate that it is the end of one chapter, and the beginning of another.
