And in the end...

i could end that title with "the love you take is equal to the love you make" and make it a Beatles thing (which, you know I would) but this has nothing to do with taking or making love. it's the end of the year. and it all comes to a screeching halt.

I've been restless, bored, stressed, apprehensive, nervous, excited, tired, and all the other emotions that come with graduating high school. I especially love telling everybody, even the people I don't know and will probably never see ever again, that i'm graduating. I'm just so ready and I just know this is what i'm supposed to be doing. Every time I see a "Congrats, Grad!" balloon or a cake with a graduation cap on it, i say "that's me! I'm graduating!" and then i want a balloon or cake.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said "All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better." It kinda sounds like "make life" but I want to say it means that you've got to try new things to make your life better and what's newer than starting fresh by graduating from the old, mundane life that is high school?

Abby's been having a tough time lately and i just keep telling her "wait until high school, it's always getting better." And it really is. There is no way i would go back to elementary school or junior high or, heaven forbid, sophomore year. There is just no way. I'm glad i had the experiences and all, but i'm ready to move forward and start this new leg of my life.

It's just going to be a challenge. An ongoing battle against all odds that is daily making me stop and thing "oh, my. Is this all for real? Or am I stuck in an 'inception' moment?" I end up pinching myself and realizing, boom, it's happening. and it's tough. Finding a job is the worst of it, for now at least... Once I gain employment, it'll all be uphill and I will be able to have a good time in college.

I think I'll end with a quote by Paul McCartney (yeah, sorry. I had to.) that goes
"I never look forward, because I have no idea how any of it happened to getting here. I've no idea how the next five years are going to be." Which is just so true. I'm sending my future self a letter and it'll be interesting to see what I was in 5 years time.

Sincerely,
Ellen
Class of '11
(hey, that rhymed. unintentional.)