Here we are: the final stretch. I thought that I’d be ecstatic to escape the Potomac bubble, but I have to say I’m not.

Don’t get me wrong, college sounds amazing, but it’s sad to think about the fact that I’m never going to be seeing any of my fellow classmates, in this same setting, ever again.

I came into Churchill not really knowing what to expect; from freshman to junior year, I chose to despise Churchill because it was the place I was forced to go to every day, and I ignored the good features Churchill has.

During my freshman year, I was  judgmental, leading me to believe others were too. In order to prevent myself from being belittled, I chose not to participate in Show Choir or come to terms with my sexuality because I did not want to seem different.

Once I got older, I realized something that would change my life forever: no one cares.

Not trying to sound pessimistic, but everyone is so focused on their own agenda that they don’t have time to judge you.

Moreover, I recognized that I can never be like everyone else. No matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried, I could not keep telling myself that I was straight. No one benefitted from it, no one seemed to mind that I am not, and I was only hurting myself by keeping it hidden.

I would not have been able to come to terms with all of this without the help of my family and friends.  I love my friends; I’ve become so close with each of them, and even though I don’t have a lot, I can say that I genuinely care about their well-being.

However, the drama, this year especially, became a daily obstacle that needed to be surpassed.

So much of the year was wasted; while everyone else was having fun, I was constantly trying to find friends to surround myself with who did not make me feel inferior or stressed out.

I have come to grasp though that no one can make you feel anything you do not choose to feel. There is always going to be fighting, and not all your friends are going to like each other, but that is okay.

High school, though academically rigorous, was more of a spiritual journey for me. I can safely say that I have become more comfortable with who I am as a person, because I have accepted myself, which has allowed others to accept me too.

To all you soon-to-be seniors: love your friends, and if you have a problem, communicate it with them. Senior year goes by really fast and it would be a shame to waste it by constantly arguing with the people who are supposed to bring you up.