It was exploration, dedication, and inspiration. It was finding yourself. It was the hardest work we’d ever done in our lives. It was another cup of coffee to keep me up all night because my essay is due in three hours. It was excuses and bullshitting. It was are we sure we want to do this? It was our parents would kills us. It was one day at a time to get out alive. It was taking too many classes at once and somehow passing all of them. It was cold, it was whispers, it was gossip, it was have you seen the new girl, it was did you hear about what happened. It was painting our faces and going to all of the games. It was dating the football players, at least until the team started losing. It was crossing your fingers for a snow day. It was parties on the weekends and slave work on the week days. It was skipping class for lattes and calling yourself in sick. It was unforgettable. It was driving fast and running faster. It was one more time couldn’t kill us, and it was hit me with your best shot. It was an adventure for all of us. It was shopping, stealing, smoking, speeding, lying, cheating, screaming, fighting, fucking, hating, loving, learning, winning and losing. It was how do you keep from crying? It was three percentage points from passing. It was I can’t believe that just happened. It was counting down the days. It was I can’t believe it’s over. It was the worst year of our lives, it was the best year of our lives. It’s nothing but a yearbook and a diploma. It’s the story we’ll never tell.