By Natalie Hill, Centerspread Editor
Wasn’t it just yesterday that I swinging at my elementary school? Didn’t I just barrow $5 for my parents, because that always seemed like more than enough for anything? Could have really been ten years ago that we celebrated the new millennium, an occurrence that had little effect on our 3rd grade life. It seems like just a week ago that we started high school.
When did we become so grown up? When did we preoccupy ourselves with politics, GPAs, the recession, careers and colleges? How did I miss the fine sand-drawn line between childhood and adulthood? I think of my high school life so far and I remember only pretending to be grown up, but when did it actually happen?
We’re three months into school and, as a senior, I’ve spent a majority of that time with the central thought of college applications, majors, SAT scores, recommendations, housing arrangements, student loans, scholarships, bank accounts, roommates, essays and acceptances. I’ve thought about all of these things nonstop, but I know that all I really want to think about is games and painting and animals and friends. All I really want to do is run and play soccer in the park and have a lemonade stand and swim.
Though college and my future after Coppell High School is the most vital task right now, apart from the actual graduation, why have we forgotten what we really enjoy to do? Why have we left our roller skates in the garage and our soccer balls in the yard, surrounded by weeds? When did we choose to be grown up rather than play?
There is nothing we can do about the inevitable life outside of our parent’s house. We do have to grow up eventually, but I feel like if we have no choice but to gain independence and be as serious as possible while doing so, then why don’t we take the time to goof around and play with our friends. Why can’t we make a knock-knock joke instead of an Obama bash?
I guess this blog could be my first step of missing my home, even though I’ve been set on leaving CHS as soon as possible. Maybe I’m already a little homesick as I think of a cold dorm life 918 miles away from the place where I grew up and thousands of miles away from my best friends. I suppose I may miss this place just a little bit. I may miss walking through the halls of CHS. I may wish that I were here stressing, rather than there, stressing… maybe eventually.
For the time being though, I am here in Coppell, and wishing that we were living in yesteryear when the only thing we worried about was who we’d play with at recess and why the grass sometimes grew taller after it would rain. It was easier then, back when we were in elementary and middle school, before we were all grown up and “mature”. It was easier then, but wouldn’t it be nice, now and again, for it to be easy now?
