On the hottest day of July, I graduated high school. Messy curly hair that didn't really suit me, a graduation gown that felt like a weight on my fragile form even thought the fabric was paper-thin and a frown hidden by a mask depicted me. The ceremony lasted about a hour and then I went home, the diplomat in my hand the only sign of a high school experience, and spent the night watching movies.
No celebration and no fun. Not one party that I only assumed most of my classmates were in attendance and no clue what I was meant to do from here on out. What was I destined for? Did I have any idea what interested and what bored me? I hadn't experienced that one defining moment where most would realize their destiny and announce that they were meant to be a doctor or a lawyer or even a McDonalds employee because they liked the smell of French fries.
I desperately needed to find myself. Maybe I'd be a margarita type of girl that liked to hear the sounds of the waves hitting boulders while she read soundly on the white sand. Or one that liked to feel the spray of the salt water on her skin while she listened to white noise and ran. The problem was: I didn't know who I was. In high school, I'd been the overachiever, the kid that stayed home on Friday and told herself she didn't need a boyfriend when she could have a perfect gpa.
I needed to fly away from home, and the town that felt like a prison, and experience new things. I hadn't left my house in what seemed like forever, a long time before the pandemic even started.
I bring the slice of pizza to my lips and inhale it, gazing at the beautiful view in front of me. The first real smile in a long while breaks through my face. A never ending turquoise ocean, white sand burning to the touch, the blazing sun shining in the clear blue sky. Its like a dream. Scratch that; I know it isn't but it truly feels like one. I know I earned this and I'm letting myself get lost in its embrace. I'm finally figuring myself out, and it feels amazing.
I hear my sister calling me and brush my fingers on the towel, running to reach her. We end up dancing to Spanish music till the sun disappears, our throats hoarse from laughing.
I finally realize anything is possible if I have the will for it.
(word count: 431)
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missed opportunity
Kısa HikayeA wedding abroad and an excellent vacation, ruined by a pandemic that has not yet run its course. Missed opportunities and possible rewards gone away with the wind.
