From the rough nights staying up late cramming for an exam to dealing with the overwhelming amounts of stress from the pangs of high school drama, one thing that got me through my high school experience was the discovery of writing poetry. 

Title: 2020-2024

Year 1 – Isolation (noun): a state of loneliness

Alone, apart from the world around Her, contactless to the outside. 

A stranger to everyone around Her. A prisoner stuck in a time capsule,

performing a routine of motions on a repeated loop, day in and day out.

Trapped inside a lonely bubble, a clock that never started ticking, no countdown of the days left.

Year 2 – Insecurity (noun): afraid of judgment 

Walking the long, daunting hallways (a maze of never ending twists and turns).

On the outside, “masking” feelings of constant anxiety with a smile so wide it was easily mistaken for exuberant confidence.

Making friends to ease discomfort, and for the most part, the shared laughs took 

Her mind off of the bombardment of Canvas notifications: 

new assignments and graded assessments. 

Year 3 – Directionless (adjective): the feeling of lacking purpose

Tirelessly working late into the Night 

Preoccupied with the laws of thermodynamics and kinematic equations

subconsciously distracting Herself from studying the SAT.

The deafening crashes of Doubt waves swept over Her thoughts, 

drowning out all energy and leaving behind 

the tangled algae that was mixed in with confusion over the results of Naviance career quizzes.

College visits and guidance counselor meetings all became a blur.

Charting how the future years would be.

Year 4 – Bittersweet (adjective): the simultaneous feeling of both happiness and sadness 

All preceding years culminated in this Final stop. 

No longer a stranger to everyone around Her.

No longer navigating a maze of never ending twists and turns.

No longer feeling the deafening crashes of Doubt waves sweep over Her thoughts. 

The clock that never started ticking finally had a countdown of the days left.

With each year’s ups and downs, Life taught each of us our own unique lesson. 

We learned to brave each wave of Life with optimism to return back to shore. 

Yes, it’s true that high school is NOT romanticized as the movies made us believe.

But as we are slowly approaching the final chapter of our high school journey, remember that we all still have time to write the perfect ending 

to our very own story.