The Boy Next Door

[50]

We are here we officially made it to the day of Graduation. After senior skip day the whole senior class was drained of energy and had no choice in coming to school.

It was one week of no school work for everyone. The teachers barely taught us anything. However for the AP and CCP classes we were still in school learning.

But that didn't matter any more because all of that is behind us now. We are here today Graduating. It's the last day of high school and the last week we would all be together. Blake and Ace had to be in Massachusetts after we all had our grad parties and prom because of the new NBA regulations.

Over the course of last week Blake got a call from one of the NBA scouts. In my opinion it went well he wouldn't stop talking about it which kinda got annoying. I am proud of him and I know everyone else is too.

This was the best year of my life. Not only did my mom make a great decision on moving here but my dad has been around more which makes it easier for me and my mom. I think they might get back together but I don't want to jinx anything.

Preparing for this day was stressful. Alexis was named Valedictorian and had to write a speech for everyone which took her about 20 times to perfect. All the parents, grandparents and siblings were here to see us graduate.

The gowns that we were given to wear are the school colors. The boys wore black and the girls wore red. Everyone I loved was at the ceremony. I spotted Leah in the stands and gave her a wave as well as some other family. The ceremony started with the principal welcoming everyone and speaking about how important this day is.

"Now let's introduce our valedictorian of the school Alexis Taylor. Give her a warm welcome as she makes her way to the stage." The principal's voice echoes from the microphone.

Alexis walked slowly up there trying not to trip. "Good Evening. Students, families, teachers, and staff. I am thrilled to be this year's Valedictorian and that I get to present this speech. We all are going down different paths in life, some will go to college, some won't and others will get accepted into the big league. With that life is nothing but moments. The fight you had with your best friend, the time you were up all night finishing an essay, a project, or a stupid assignment is just a moment. The night you watched the sunset with a boy you thought you would marry or the championship game you won was just a moment. The time you thought that you would never be able to heal from a breakup, failed friendship, or situation ship is just a moment. Every up and down, everything in between is just a moment that passes with time. You may remember these moments or not but what you will remember within these moments is the people you spent them with. All the people emotions, feelings, and moments we experience in are lives is what we call the simplicity of life. So hold on to it a little tighter, smile a little bigger, laugh a little harder, forgive a little quicker, and love a whole lot deeper because all these moments are a piece of life that you will remember when you're old and wishing you could rewind time. Not a single thing lasts forever so you better damn well enjoy it before it's gone. This school year has been a series of unexpected occurrences for me. I am not one to open up and share my emotions with everyone because that's scary. I can't give you valuable advice because there is a whole world that I haven't discovered yet. But what I can say is this, during this school year I worked my ass off to be the best and it paid off. I felt proud and like I finally accomplished something. But just as of a couple of days ago, someone told me something. He said that life cannot be defined by what you wear, the number numbers in your bank account, how many followers you have or your résumé. You need to make sure that you are doing is what you want to do, not what everyone thinks you should do. Now you can choose to listen to any of these words or you can ignore it completely. It's your life, you decide your destiny. Thank you!" Alexis held a smile as she walked down back to her seat.