Attending SOPA

Chapter 11

*SOPA Graduation*
It is the day I graduate from SOPA. I never knew this day would come. I always thought I'd be here forever, I absolutely love it here. Now, it's time I move onto bigger and better things. With my debut with 4EVER, I'm about to become even more busy. I am graduating as a senior, and I'm graduating with all of my best of friends. The graduation is simple, just like my junior graduation. Every student goes up alphabetically to recieve their diploma. I noticed from looking at my friends' diplomas is that they're different from American diplomas. It states on the diploma what the student specialized in. That is interesting, it's pretty cool actually.

Soon, my name is called, and I go over and receive my diploma. On my diploma it says that I specialized in singing. I may have not been the top student in the class, but I was pretty good otherwise. I take my seat with my class, then our principal gives all the seniors a send off speech. I really appreciate our principal. He has been the most supportive principal that I've ever met. He has such a special connection with all the students. He is so humble. Once his speech was over, we can take final graduation photos, then we can be on our way. This is kind of an emotional moment for me. After the ceremony, we are to clean up our dorms, and take all our belongings out of our dorms. While cleaning up my dorm, I am getting emotional, and even begin crying. My roommate pats me on the back, she tells me that everything will always get better. Now that I'm in an idol group, my life is bound to change forever.

The first things I pick up are all my clothing from my closet. I asked the school if I can keep my uniform for keepsake, and they said I could. I'm so happy, that means I can put it on, and relive my time at SOPA. I put all my clothes into a large suitcase. When I run out of room in my suitcase, I put them in boxes. I didn't realize how many articles of clothing I bought until now, but it's a lot. I finish putting clothes into my suitcase and boxes, then move onto other things like my stationary stuff. I have my journal from my first year at SOPA and my second journal from this year. I'll be starting a new journal for my idol journey. I had written in my journal so far that I had gotten to meet Stray Kids, GOT7, and K.A.R.D so far. I also had written about my debut stage and how amazing it was. My stationary items include things like: washy tape, pens, pencils, thin-tipped highlighters, photos, polaroids, paperclips, etc. I put my stationary things in a smaller box. Next, all my bedding. Most of this stuff belongs to the school, but smaller things like my BT21 plushies, smaller blankets, and a pillow or two, belongs to me. I put those things into a air tight bag. The furniture belongs to SOPA, so I don't have to worry about taking those apart, and packing them away. I think that is everything now.

When I finished cleaning up my dorm, putting things in boxes and everything, I put them in the trunk of the taxi and take them to my dorm in JYP. I really didn't want to leave SOPA, because I've been there for what felt longer than two years. This is the end of my SOPA journey, and the start of my idol journey. On my last ride away from SOPA, Hajoon is sitting next to me, and I'm just sobbing. My time at SOPA was the best two years of my life. I got to experience things that I never experienced before. I made friends who will be my friends for life. I learned a knew, challenging language with the help of those friends. Now, we're all going our own way. Some of us are going to college, others are taking a different path. Either way, we're parting ways, and will probably won't see each other much. That makes me very emotional. I'm a mess today, I didn't think I'd cry this much today.
"Hey, you alright?" Hajoon asked.
"I don't wanna leave SOPA. I have such good memories there." I sobbed.
"Aw, well. You can always reread through your journal and relive them. You can also make new memories." Hajoon said.
"I loved our friend group, and I hope our graduation doesn't tear us completely apart." I said.
"It won't. I mean, we'll be super busy with 4EVER now. That doesn't mean we can't have coffee with our friends every once in a while." Hajoon said.
"I guess you're right." I said.
"Keep your head up. Things are looking up. You know, shoot for the moon. If you miss it, you will still land among the stars." Hajoon said, qouting Norman Vincent Peale.
"Right. Things will always get better. I can always see our friends again." I said.
"Yep, now let's rock the world with our music, and hit the stage. Let's take the world by storm." Hajoon said, putting an arm around my shoulder.

We walk into JYP Entertainment, then into the dance studio where we'll be perfecting all our choreography. I won't be returning to SOPA now, and I have to start my life as an idol. My life will start to change, and I have no idea what's in the future, but I know that we're going to have a lot of fun. Leaving SOPA may have been rough for me, but I'm opening a new chapter now. It's time I move on from my high school life, and begin maturing into my adult life. It's wild that I started high school in America and ended it in South Korea. My life has taken a wild turn, and I don't regret a single second of it. My parents are so proud of me, they saw my debut stage, and can't wait for more songs to come out from my group. Soon, I'll be travelling all over the world with my band mates. I'll be going all over Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Idol life will be adventurous, and I can't wait to see what's in store.