I don't know, guys, but I just feel, honestly, very scared of graduating high school.
That's because your entire life has revolved around a structured, sheltered environment where teachers completely fail to teach you and hundreds of other people your age how to function as an adult. For the last decade or so you've probably been aware of the year you're graduating, but it seemed like such a far-off, distant event that it's a waste of time to even think about it. And then suddenly you realize, holy fuck, it's only a few months away.
In all reality, you're going to breeze through senior year, have a somewhat sentimental last week of school, spend a few weeks anxiously waiting for graduation day. You'll sit through a few speeches that you won't pay any attention to, wait impatiently while they call everyone's name one-by-one, get your diploma, sit through more talking wondering "when the fuck is this over?", get to throw your hat, take some pictures with your parents and whatever friends have a camera and are
way too excited, go to a graduation party or two..
Then you wake up in the morning and think "huh, I don't feel any different". Unless you have a pathological fear of long, drawn-out ceremonies or square shaped hats or something, there's really nothing to be scared of. You'll forget about high school completely in a week or two and then start worrying about whatever else you need to do once summer's over, and spoiler alert: that'll work out fine too.
You'll be 18, no one expects much from any 18 year old, and you're not going to be put into any situation if there's a chance you'll fuck everything up beyond repair. That's not to say you'll succeed at everything, you'll make mistakes, but that's what people our age are supposed to do. Life after high school is new and unfamiliar, and no one attempts anything for the first time without fucking it up somehow. It's all part of growing up and it's what millions of disillusioned, clueless kids have done before you. You'll be fine.
Right now the biggest thing you have to worry about is the fact that, after this year, you'll likely never play dodgeball again. I don't miss high school at all, but holy fuck do I miss dodgeball. And you will too.
I forgot where I was going with this. Now I just want to play dodgeball.
