An Ode to 235

“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same...” - unknown

As I rode the waves one by one I couldn’t help but feel completely at ease. The sun shining bright, the smell of the ocean, and the wind blowing with the sound of a beautiful symphony I had never heard before, until now. I let the waves crash into me and the water take me away, and I thought to myself “in this moment I am completely happy”. The past four years have been an experience I will never forget, but I think what I’ll remember the most about high school is this. This class, and everyone’s beautiful face.

I’ll miss sitting in this seat reading my mini chapters of my life off to you guys. I never got to read my first OP because I went off to California, I remember being so terrified, until I read what Mueller wrote and thought to myself “wow, someone actually gives a shit”. My favorite moment is when someone has an OP, I feel so much closer to them than I did the day before. And I think to myself “they are so brave for reading that out loud”. This is the one place I truly feel like I am home.

The one place where I can say something completely irrelevant and not be made fun of. I’ll never forget the day I first met you Ms. Mueller, Hopson wanted me to go to Mullins and I accidently trolled into your class instead. I didn’t know then how important you’d be to me and how much i’d love you, I promise I’m not kissing ass. You’ve given me what no one really could and that’s hope. By just sitting and listening to anything I had to say. I know that if I ever needed someone you would always be there.

I’m really sad to go because I don’t want to leave my family behind. I came into this class with such a crappy outlook on life, mostly because of everything that has happened with my dad. I was so bitter and angry, I didn’t know how to feel anything else. And then you gave us the opportunity to write about anything we wanted, who knew my dad would be in any of my writing.

You’ve taught me more than just literature and I don’t know how I could ever repay you. This year alone I’ve become someone who I’d never thought I’d be, someone who loves themselves. Same goes for everyone sitting in this room, thank you for listening and being there whenever I needed. And Victoria, I really didn’t mean anything by the Asian thing, haha. I’ve written about the toughest times in my life and I can say with confidence that this will be the hardest paper to read.

Without hesitation I can say that you, Mueller, are my hero. And whenever I’m not doing what I’m suppose to I can hear your voice in my head saying “really?” or “come on”. You have made such an impact on my life and I will never forget you. You are such a great person and I hope one day I can be as awesome as you.

The friendship I made here is something I’ll always carry with me and I hope you all know that if you ever needed anything I’ll always answer the phone. I’ll miss Mr. Riley, I’ll miss cheering Leann on, I’ll miss listening to everyone’s OP, I’ll miss pish, I’ll miss Frankenstein, I’ll miss the crazy mother/wife love, I’ll miss Jeff turning on the t.v every morning because I can’t reach, I’ll miss Kristi talking about how much she hates Pre-calc, I’ll miss the “get ready, go”, I’ll miss “you’re running out of days for occasional papers”, I’ll miss it all, I’ll miss you guys. And whenever I’m upset I’ll think back to the moments we shared in this classroom and think about how truly blessed I am to have met such amazing people like you.