7:06 a.m. I made it (exhale).

That was my first thought when I pulled into parking space 605 yesterday morning. I made it to what exactly? Well for starters to school, to the parking lot and into my parking space, subconsciously checking that off my mental checklist. As I approached the walk way to the front office, I realized that this was my last first day of school at Carroll. As I opened the door, I decided that I was going to take this moment in. I slowed my pace and looked around. Without meaning to, I automatically turned down freshman hall and headed up the stairs to junior hall. Instinctively, I glanced at my old locker. It doesn’t feel like it’s been a full year since I first walked up those stairs to my junior year. But yet, it has.

11:55 a.m. I made it (stomach growls).

I have always hated the lunch line, the idea of a bunch of hormonal teenagers that range from having immense body odor to smelling too much like a flower all in one group, forced to socialize or stand awkwardly as the waddle towards the goal: FOOD. But yesterday, yesterday I was okay with it. I talked to people I’ve never met, never thought about talking to because it’s the last first lunch of the year. Why not?

3:16 p.m. (exhale).

That was it. The first day of senior year. I made it…through day one. T-minus 192 days left. Prayers.