High Life Thursday, May 22,2003
Reflections
High school experience teaches senior leaders...
-Sarah Rashid-
Student Bodj^ President
I honestly couldn’t remember a
time being more nervous. En
circled in a roaring gymnasium, my
knees got weak as we jogged to the
center. Our adrenaline rose with
Coach Frank’s “You say beat! And
you say Page!” chant, and after
the seventeenth round, it was time
for us to begin our routine.
All was going well. The first
three eight counts passed
in perfect unison and we
scattered into our
respected positions to hit
the hardest part: the stunt.
Messing up wasn’t an
option and in doing so, I
would disappoint not
only myself, but the squad
as well. The stunt re
quired added individual
focus, while keeping a
level of consciousness of
the girls around me.
I held my breath and
couldn’t help making my
“game face” smile more
authentic when it hit
strong. We each held our
own while still working
together and couldn’t
have been more proud of
our performance.
In many ways I find my
experiences and chal
lenges at Grimsley compa-
rable to my routine.
We’ve spent these years
working towards our own goals
and finding ourselves, while main
taining a level of consciousness of
our surrounding peers.
Stepping out, we’ve coura
geously made decisions to shift
our focus from what everyone else
was doing, to what we needed to
do in order to “hold our own” and
achieve our personal goals.
Yet, most of us will define High
School by the moments spent join
ing the crowd.
We won’t forget the good times
cheering ridiculously at Grimsley
Page games, the excitement and
fuss of an upcoming dance, ot sim
ply sharing food as well as laughs
in the grove during lunch.
These people whom we’ve met
along the way, who have unknow
ingly allowed us to take the focus
off ourselves, have helped us keep
our sanity and made these four
years enjoyable. And as we dissi
pate in different directions, we’ll
always have these memories con
necting us.
People always refer to that “fine
line” — the line that separates
adolescence from adulthood. For
four years we have walked that line
together. Tottering back and forth
between whether we should act
like adults or minors, has more of
ten than not been confusing.
Through trial and error, we’ve
spent our time at Grimsley finding
a balance that suits us best.
We’ve made the mistake of wor
rying ourselves too much with our
own goals and the future rather
than living the day, or have been
too involved in the good times we
were experiencing at the moment
vGth everyone else, than realizing
where our actions would put us in
the future.
We’ve struggled between
individuality and conformity, but
in the process have learned more
about ourselves than we could
have imagined.
I view graduation as a huge ac
complishment. The road to this
These people whom
we’ve met along the
way, who have
unknowingly allowed
us to take the focus off
ourselves, have helped
us keep our sanity and
made these four years
enjoyable.
moment may have been easier for
some than others, but nonetheless,
it’s reason to be proud and confi
dent for the journey ahead of us.
We have the ability to do so
many things, but it’s all about fig
uring what works best for us to
complete our perfect routine. I
wish nothing but the best for all of
you and encourage you to do what
ever it is you want to do in the fu
ture—Tm confident you are ca
pable of it.
All my love,
Sarah Rashid.
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...life essentials: Balance, friendship, active living
The time has finally come; the
day will soon be here. We will no
longer be children; we will have
grown up and joined the world as
contributing members of society.
We have waited so long for this
moment, and now that it is upon
us, what will we do? Where do we
go from here? Most of us will go
off to a college or university; oth-
Exams came and went;
lost love turned into
beautiful friendships,
and everything turned
out okay—maybe not
the way you wanted it,
but okay in the end.
ers will enter the workforce upon
graduation, and even fewer will de
fend our country by joining the
armed serviees. Everything is mov
ing so fast and yet so slow at the
same time.
Things that seemed so impor
tant to us only a short time ago are
now distant memories. We look
back on the years and see how
young, ignorant and idealistic we
were. We believed our lives to be
over if we were grounded and
could not go to the biggest party
ever, or if we did not get the coolest
and newest clothes. We stressed
and stayed up long hours to pass
quizzes and tests, to finish IDs and
essays. We knew there was no
hope for love ever again after we
broke up with our first loves.
Only now do we begin to look
back and realize that our lives were
never nearly over; they were just
beginning. Exams came and went;
lost love turned into beautiful
friendships, and everything turned
out okay—maybe not the way you
wanted it, but okay in the end.
We look back and laugh at how
young and nai ve we were and of
ten still are. We see all the mis
takes we have made along life’s
short path thus far.
Many of us would give any
thing to go back and change some
of the things we said and did, or
were too afraid to do or say, but
we cannot. All we can do is learn
from our mistakes and grow
as people.
I will leave Grimsley as a much
different person than I entered.
Like all of us, I have grown and
matured. I have cone to many con
clusions in my diort time here, but
I believe the most impor
tant conclusion 1 have
reached is
to live for today.
Do not live in the past;
you can not change what
has already been done, no
matter how hard you try.
You can only learn to ac
cept it and grow from it.
Do not solely live your life
in the future either. Do not
worry; it will be here soon
enough. We have to live for
today, or our lives will pass
by before we realize they
are gone.
So, I leave you with the
following: live life to its
fullest because if you do
not, one day it will be
gone, and you will realize
that you never really lived
life at all. You only
watehed it pass you by.
Do not let all the little
things stress you out; it
will be okay. Just breathe
and do what you have to
do, and have some fun. These are
supposed to be the best times of
our young lives.
To all my teachers, thank you.
To my friends, thank you, and good
luck on life’s journey.
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-IVIikh Gunderman-
Senior Class President