(Photo Credit: Nia Delacruz)

In three months, I’ll walk down these stairs, not in a skirt, but in a white graduation gown.

A couple weeks ago, I had an epiphany. Not in a religious context, to be clear, but more on the subject of how fast time goes by.

I constantly look back on things, especially old photos and videos. One of my favorite things to do whenever I’m at my grandma’s house is to look at her old photos, especially of my dad and his cousins when they were my age. It reminds me that the adults in my life once lived a life similar to mine.

But that’s going way back. I’m talking about looking back at these last four years of high school.

As I said, I had this realization right before the last showing of Trinitas’ play Blithe Spirit. Tech crew has  a few traditional chants that are yelled a couple of times to pump everyone up before the show. When we finished our last chant and headed over to our stations, I suddenly felt a deep sinking feeling in my stomach. This would be the last time I would ever get to do those chants.

That feeling led to more thoughts spiraling in my mind, “Will this be the last time I get to hang out with this group of people?” and “How did the time go by so fast?” Eventually, I had to acknowledge something I didn’t want to come to terms with. After the next three months, my senior year was coming to an end.

Hence my epiphany: Make every moment count.

I have to force myself to embrace every class period, no matter how long and challenging it can feel. But the little moments I enjoy, like when Brooke Skipton ’24 tells my English class what she ate over the weekend or when Katie Meneses ’24 tells random stories in Mr. Chavez’s class, help remind me why I want to stay in class. Even all the times when Ms. Barclay picks on Tahlia Jain ’26 just for the fun of it or tells us we are all useless compared to Marci Rau ’24 makes me laugh. I have to look at the people around me, not just in class, but during lunch or in the hallways and enjoy their company before it’s gone. 

I want to enjoy every moment in rehearsal for our upcoming musical, from the complicated process of memorizing scene blocking and choreographed dances to the long nights during tech week. Especially on show days, right before opening, when I hear tech legends like Nyah Vukoye ’25 or Nia Delecruz ’24 calling out a tech chant.

I must scream my heart out at Red and Gold, be open to learning new things at Kairos, and dance like my life depends on it at prom. Reaching the end of the school year seems like a long road to travel, but it’s worth the walk.

I’ll walk across the Servite Theater stage and take my final bow.

I’ll walk across the graduation ceremony platform and proudly receive my diploma.

I’ll walk across the Rosary parking lot and drive away as a student for the last time.

My goal is to leave this campus with no regrets, no hard feelings, just simply memories that will make me smile. It’s hard to let go of something you love; that’s why you have to enjoy it while it’s still here.

So, what was the whole point of this article? It was to implore, beg even, any of the high school readers who made it to the end to enjoy every single moment, especially if you are a senior. And if you are one of those people who say, “I hate high school, and I’m so ready to leave,” I totally get it. No hate here.

As for the rest of us, we only have a couple months left. And there’s no rewind or redo. Make it count.