There are some things, some situations, that serve as a powerful reminder of how quickly time passes by, and one of those things is graduation.

My best friend graduated today (well, technically it was yesterday, since it is past midnight now), and I was there to see it and celebrate with her. I clearly remembered her elementary school graduation, to which I also came, and then I remembered my own graduation. I remember how young we were, and yet how cool we thought we were for walking down that aisle in our blue gowns, ready to receive our diplomas. We thought that it was the end, that we had completed all there was to complete. I remember how my class became all sentimental about saying goodbye, even though we all knew that most of us would be together in high school anyway.

There was another thought that very much affected me. When I was in the younger grades of the elementary school (first, second, third), I used to see high school students in the lunchroom and I thought about how many years I had left until I could be in their place. To a second grader, the image of being in twelfth grade is too vague to properly contemplate. Twelfth grade was something so far away, so out of reach. It seemed as though it would never come, because I knew I still had so many grades left to go through. I often wondered about it though, counting down the years. And now I realized -- it all went by so quickly, and here I am, entering the twelfth grade, and there is my best friend, already done.

I remember when she and I first met. I was in sixth grade, and she was in seventh. We were shy at first, but once we got over that initial stage, we became good friends... and then we became best friends. We have come so far since that day when we first met. I still remember it, as crystal clear as if I see it on an HD screen.

Well, now she has graduated, and next year I will not have her with me in school. I will not be able to just find her during my lunch break or free periods, whenever I want to talk. It might take some adjusting.

Time is flying by, and I want to make the most of every day before I graduate. I used to count down the years until graduation because I could not wait to be done with school, but now, when I count the time I have left here, I am sorry that it is so little. I always wanted the clock to speed up, but now that it has, I wish it would slow down. When I saw those graduates on that stage today (some of whom I knew from my AP Literature class) and I imagined myself there in a year, it made me kind of sad. I always dreamed of being there, but realizing now how little time I have left, I regret having to leave so soon.

I am tired now, having been up for nearly seventeen hours after sleeping for a grand total of five. I have had a busy day, and although my thoughts are racing, I do not want that to translate into me rambling here.