I attended a family gathering not too long ago with most of my relatives, in what seemed to be the smallest house known to man, with the heat up slightly past the moderately uncomfortable level. As is always the case with my grandfather, criticisms were not few. He told me that I should have shaved for the occasion, and to take my hat off in the house. As I made my way through the living room, I knew exactly what to expect; comments about how tall I've gotten, how handsome I've become, and how much I look like my father. My aunt Claudette pulled me aside for our usual chat in which she always asks "so Bry, who's your girlfriend these days?" to which I sadly reply the same as the previous 8 years "no one Aunt Claudette." Uncle Don, a former heart surgeon, always asks me my favorite questions; "So how's school going? Where are you going next year? What do you want to study?" I'd like to answer these questions by saying "good, I dunno, I'm not sure", but instead, I throw together a couple of sentences I think he wants to hear, using words that make me sound smart. At my family gatherings, I go for the food, but I stay for the conversation.
             One thing I noticed was that almost everyone I came in contact with reminded me of the grand importance of this period in my life. It seems as if everyone is constantly telling us "these are the best years of your life, don't let them get away from you". As I near the end of high school, and look forward to college, I'm not so sure that this is the right message to convey. I say this not because I think that life in high school is a bleak or miserable experience that I wish I could have skipped, but because I do not want to look at life in high school as the peak of happiness. I will certainly remember those students and teachers who have impacted me in one way or another in relation to that building....