It may be hard to choose one singular lesson we have learned from being in high school after four years, but there’s one thing we all know too well: the ephemeral feeling of it all. After reflecting on everything that we’ve experienced—every class, every photo captured, every shared laugh, every glance—every little moment was temporary. Even the bigger moments—every competition, every show, every presentation, every moment where you had to stand out—they were all temporary. The bad, the ugly, the moments that almost broke us—even those were ephemeral. And even if some moments felt like they would last forever, or felt mundane because of our familiarity with them, they all amounted to the person each of us are right now, and the person we will become in the future. And sometimes we didn’t realize it, or didn’t want to accept the truth, that these moments were ephemeral. But there’s nothing wrong with that because they all amounted to something that won’t be forgotten. The small details might be, but the intrinsic value that has been molded into our souls will linger.

There’s a quote by Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez from the movie “No se aceptan devoluciones” that has always stayed in the back of my mind. The quote is, “Duró poco, pero no importa, valió la pena.” In English the quote translates to, “It didn’t last long, but it doesn’t matter, it was worth it.” As a senior who is saying goodbye to so many places and people, I can’t help but think about these words at every last moment. It makes me glad that we have so many traditions like senior sunrise, senior picnic, and senior breakfast. All these moments are ephemeral, they’re temporary, but they’re worth it. After every experience, every feeling, every connection, it was all worth it because these memories are what we’ll carry with us forever.