Graduation day is finally here,

Which marks the end of our high school careers.

Today, we will walk together,

In our black and orange caps and gowns

With the biggest smiles on all of our faces.

But,

As excited as we are for our futures,

We should not stop ourselves from looking back on these past four years.

Freshman year was filled with nerves and excitement.

Our first year of high school was filled with ALS ice bucket challenges and dabs.

Upperclassmen constantly told us that these four years would go by fast,

But we didn't believe them.

Then Sophomore year came.

We got to climb the wall, took our permit tests, and went to a billion sweet sixteens,

All while doing the running man challenge and  the mannequin challenge.

Then we were Juniors.

Arguably the hardest year of high school,

We got our licenses, took the SATs and ACTs.

We went to prom, and had no clue what we wanted to do with our lives.

Finally, it’s senior year.

We spent the whole year enjoying our senior activities.

We decided which path we would be taking after high school.

We got ready for prom… and after prom.

We played Powder Puff, and had our senior breakfast and barbecue.

But it wasn’t until we were standing in our caps and gowns,

With the people we have gone to school with since we were five,

The Graduation March playing in the background,

That we realized this was it.

The past 180 days lead to graduation,

To our last Thanksgiving Football game, our last Homecoming,

Our last pep ralleys, our last time sitting in North Nation cheering on the Lions,

Our last time putting on our uniforms, our last school musical,

Our last, last day of high school, our last time going to our lockers,

Our last time walking down the hallways as a student,

And now, we are saying our last goodbyes;

To our friends, to our family, to our childhoods.

So, thank you Middletown North.

For the friendships that will last a lifetime,

The teachers that have inspired us to change the world,

And the memories that will never be forgotten.

We will always be lions