At this point in the year, school has become somewhat of an agonizing chore for me. However, I continue to learn and grow tiny bits each and every day. As my hours left in these halls dwindle, it is in my instinctive, sentimental nature to reflect.

I always make the joke that I peaked in 2013. And although I goof on and on about it, truly that year of my life was one of my favorites. I can remember dancing to the latest Black Eyed Peas song in the car with my mom, eating snacks on the afternoon bus with some of my best friends, and many more simple details of the time.

But, those simple details and bonds made back then are some of the most important things to me now. As we inch closer to the end, relationships strain with the appearance of a quickly impending task: life after high school.

Nothing will ever be quite as simple as it was way back when. With many of us going off to college or pursuing an intriguing dream, the people we consider to be our closest confidants become more important. Those Wexford shenanigans and in-school antics have turned into some of the last stories we will remember of our high school days.

I can speak from newfound experience that people will scatter. I have friends that are heading to new cities, different countries, and great challenges for their college educations. Additionally, I have friends that have distanced as priorities change. Life is no longer a group activity — it is up to us to apply ourselves and achieve goals. Moving on is going to become a bigger task as time passes.

And maybe that distance from high school friends is good. Finding purpose and motivation to endure the hardships associated with young adulthood is crucial. Those who find it succeed and those who fall short often do not. Once we begin to articulate what independent choice we will make for ourselves, many of us will come back to our childhood friends to share experiences and reminisce.

So maybe you dislike your classmates, maybe you have many friends, or maybe you have a few. Regardless, even though we will all move on and forge new relationships within these next few years, some friendships will stand the test of time. As I look back at the past 13 years of time spent here at North Allegheny, I notice that the friends who have stuck by me since the beginning, throughout every embarrassing memory and special moment, are the ones who will continue to do so.

Also, these days it is so easy to keep in touch that those who put in the extra effort to send a text or sit down and call will stick around. Those moments where we make time for communication during this next period of our lives will become some of the most important things to us soon.

So consider this. While anticipating being handed your diploma, leaving your friends and family, and starting anew, remember that for some people it is goodbye, and for others, it is only goodbye for now…