Gratitude Unveiled

By G. Gutierrez

“I’ll be leaving now”; such a bittersweet thing to say. I’ll be leaving where I conquered my fears–the same place where I met my people, made memories, got disappointed, and had victories.

We’ve dreamed of this day, us in our togas and walking out of this school. We longed and prayed for this day, yet I’m not ready to leave it.

This is where it all started—this is where I picked myself up when I thought I couldn’t handle it. The same place where I smiled at everyone and said, “I found my home”.

Now, we won’t be going to our homeroom to write down notes nor do our tasks, instead, we’ll see each other randomly on workdays and talk about our memories, the “remember when....”, and we’ll laugh the same laughs as before.

“I’ll be leaving now,” I say to you, my school, and thank you. Thank you for bringing me the courage to face the world and thank you for the memories. Thank you for allowing me to harness my full potential, and thank you for letting me meet those who never failed to put a smile on my place.

“I’ll be leaving now", and I will smile. “I’ll see you soon," I say.