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Graduation

           Looking back over the years of my life, my high school graduation was by far the most highly anticipated event. Independence was on the horizon and I would be making a new life for myself at Valdosta State University. I can remember counting down the days in the final remaining months before the big day. I could not wait to walk across the stage in front of my family and friends and grasp the diploma with honors that I’d worked so hard for. Knowing I would get to wear a golden stole representing the accomplishment of honors, I knew my parents would look at me with great pride. Because my dad never got the opportunity to attend college, he pushed me to do well in school, set my sights high, and achieve the goals I set for myself. When I was young, he checked my homework, reminded me to study, and was very concerned with my grades. Although he was disappointed in any grade below a “B,” he always encouraged to do better. He always had faith in me, which made me believe in myself. I knew I made him proud when he saw my golden stole and my purple cap and gown on that sunny Saturday morning. He knew I was headed for college to be a teacher, and I will never forget how proud he was of me on that day. I can also vividly remember thinking to myself about how I could not wait to escape the watchful eye of my parents. I greatly anticipated my graduation until the time came to say goodbye to all of my friends and family. Departing from the life I had always known proved to be one of my most challenging tasks thus far.

            In a tiny south Georgia town called Fitzgerald, where I am originally from, it seems as though people rarely ever meet a stranger. I have spent most of my life going to school with the same people every day from preschool to high school. Fitzgerald has a Mayberry-like atmosphere, where the occasional trip to Wal-Mart is a big night out on the town. Everyone knew the day would come when we would all part ways and have to say our goodbyes. Though everyone was excited to move on to the next phase of life, we became saddened as the day crept closer. Throughout the years, our class had grown to be very close and every class below ours envied our tight bonds. We realized that along with graduation would come an escape from the boredom of living in a small town and riding around on the weekends in hopes of finding something fun to do. As we were getting ready to graduate, my friends and I planned to have many senior parties and spend as much time as we could together. All of our senior parties will be special memories because we got to ski in the local lake, go swimming for hours on end, and have cookouts at the local river or at different people’s houses. We also had a luau at the local country club, where we had so much fun. We had many parties including the one thrown in my honor by my aunt and mom. They planned a party for me at Lake Blackshear, a lake in Cordele that is near Fitzgerald, and all my friends came for a day of fun in the sun. We did many water activities including skiing, tubing, and jet ski riding. I can remember how much fun it was watching all of my friends being pulled by the boat on the tubes and the skis. I vividly remember how all the guys at the party thought they were so strong and mighty, that no one could make them fall off the inner-tube. They mistakenly made this bet with my dad while he was driving he boat, and he made sure they lost the bet. It was comical watching each guy being dragged from side to side on the tube going at a high speed and hearing them screaming like little girls. Each time they fell they hit the water hard and sometime soared in the air. The blast we had that day will be a special memory that we will all share forever.

            Another special part of the graduation process that I will always remember was the graduation service at my church. There were eight seniors along with me, and we were recognized and given a small party after church. During the service, songs were sung and touching speeches were made by several of the honorees. It was a very emotional service but one of the most special moments of my life. A slide show was put together with each of our pictures from our childhoods up to the present, played along with songs of saying goodbye. It was nice to be recognized and to receive gifts from people at my church that I had known all of my life. This day was also a very sad day for my parents because I am the youngest child and they weren’t ready for me to leave home. My mother’s reaction to the slide show will be in my mind for years to come because it really brought back many special memories. An empty nest cannot be easy for any parent and I know it wasn’t for both of mine.

            During the final week of school, seniors were excused from classes to practice for our graduation service. While wearing my purple cap and gown along with my friends, I realized how scared I was of leaving my comfortable little town. I couldn’t believe I was a senior because it seemed like yesterday I was a scared and confused freshman. The anticipated day finally came on May twenty-fifth. My whole family came to my graduation at our high school football field to watch one hundred and forty-eight of my childhood friends finally graduate. I proudly sat on the front row with the other honor graduates and nervously waited to my name to be called. When I finally heard my name, thoughts were racing through my mind. At that moment, my main thought was focusing on walking carefully to the stage so I would not trip and fall on my face in front of thousands of people. Thankfully, I made it across the stage without any disasters, and I received the piece of paper I had worked twelve years for. I was happy to get my diploma, but sadden at the reality of moving to college and not passing my friends in the halls everyday like I did in high school. On that day I realized it was finally time to grow up, even if I was not ready.

            Parting ways with my best friend Ashley was a hard adjustment for me. We had been friends since second grade and I couldn’t imagine not living in the same town. When she decided to go to school in Athens, I was scared the distance would come between us but so far it hasn’t. Luckily, keeping touch is important to us both so we email and talk on the phone often and we are still close friends. Graduation was a time in my life that symbolized both the past and the future because I was forced to leave the past behind and choose my future. I will never forget all the fun times I spent with my friends and the memories we made. My four years of high school were the best years of my life and I would not have done anything differently. Starting this new life in Valdosta has been hard and a big adjustment for me, but each day gets easier.

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One Horrible Halloween

           It was Halloween night and the air was cool and crisp. I was going to a Halloween party planned at my friend’s house and a hayride was the main attraction. I was seven years old and so excited about the party that I put on my costume hours before the party began. I played in my mom’s makeup like a kid in a candy store. During that particular time, hayrides were a very big adventure, and everyone was looking forward to it. I remember going on other hayrides before this one and each time they would drive us slowly down a long dusty dirt road called Footsteps. Each time we journeyed down this particular road, we heard howls and screams of terror, along with loud footsteps coming from the woods. The truck would suddenly stop, leaving the riders to be thrown to the wolves or whatever beasts were hiding in the forest. We could even see giant footprints on the dirt road below which looked as if there was an actual Bigfoot on the loose. I now know that the entire scary environment was staged and that there were always adults hiding in the woods and making noises in order to scare us. At that time the slightest insignificant noise would cause me to burst into tears out of horror and tremble from sheer fright.

           When I arrived at the party that night, I remember seeing all my friends in colorful costumes. There were about fifty kids dressed as ghosts, goblins, witches, Ninja turtles, and Barbies. I was proudly wearing a fashionable Beauty Queen costume. My dress was a long and beautiful white chiffon gown and was trimmed in pink lace. I had on too much makeup for my age and the plastic diamond tiara on my head added a touch of glamour to my royal attire. When I walked into the party I knew I had the best costume when all heads turned to gaze my way. I began to speak to each of my friends and I could sense all the girls’ jealously over my stylish outfit.

  To get the party started, my friend’s father gathered us around the campfire and each child had a Jet-Puffed marshmallow on the end of his/her coat hanger. He proceeded to tell us the legend of the Footsteps trail. In his deep raspy voice he began his story; “Once upon a time, there was a woman who was running down a dirt road that is now known as Footsteps. It was a dark Halloween night one hundred years ago and behind the woman was a crazy man chasing her with an axe. He brutally cut her head off and the legend says that every Halloween night you can see and hear the headless woman’s footsteps on that same dirt road.” After hearing that story, I was terrified. I was dreading going down that dirt road, but I wanted stay with my friends, so I gathered up enough courage to face my fears and head down the dirt road of doom.

           I can still picture the bright blue truck overflowing with hay and blankets for us to warm up with. The truck had a trailer hooked to the back of it because the truck alone could not hold all of the kids. I began the trip riding in the back of the trailer with friends. We arrived at Footsteps and all of a sudden the truck stopped. They told us to be quiet and listen for the woman’s footsteps. I sat wide-eyed, perfectly still, and cringed as I listened for the woman’s ghost walking down the dark dirt road. I then heard a noise. “Pop!” The noise came from the woods and it was getting closer. I was so petrified that I almost wet my pants. I wanted to get in the back of the truck because I thought I would be safer there with the adults. Big mistake! I attempted to gracefully jump from the trailer to the tailgate and my friend Jeremy tried to grab my hand and help me onto the truck. I put my right foot on the tailgate and lost my balance when I tried to step up with my left foot, I fell abruptly. My ankle twisted as all of my body weight landed on it. The pain was flowing through my body and pulsating in my ankle. Everyone began surrounding me and I could barely move. All I could hear were constant questions ringing in my ears. “Are you alright, does it hurt?”  I must have been in complete shock because all I could do was nod my head in disbelief. As I lied on the cool ground, my eyes darted from bush to bush, terrified that the ghost would grab me and take me into the dark night. I tried to stand but the pain was unbearable. The hayride ended when the adults decided to take me to the hospital, but I was so ready to leave Footsteps that I didn’t care if we went to the hospital or not.

  Luckily my ankle was not broken, it was only sprained. When I noticed that my beautiful white dressing was dirty because of my fall, I was extremely upset. I even lost my diamond tiara but I had no desire to go back and get it. I’m still not sure what exactly made me lose my balance and fall that night, but I told everyone that I felt as if someone tripped me and perhaps it was the headless woman’s ghost. Needless to say, I have not been on any more hayrides since that dark October night. It’s ironic how bad memories seem to linger around in the back of our minds, while the good ones seem to fade away too soon.

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