71 Days

 By Greta Noble

    43 days. 43 more school lunches. 43 more morning traffic jams. In 43 days, the 254 students in the Highlands class of 2021 will walk out the doors as alumni. We will have 4 years' worth of Highlands education under our belts. We will be ready to take on the world, right?

Everyone says that your four years of high school will go by in the blink of an eye. I couldn’t

disagree more. It seems like it has been ages since I walked through the front doors, a timid

freshman. It seems so long ago that I sat in Mr. Code’s Health 1 class in awe of the seniors who

walked the halls. They were so old. They were so grown. We are now them. 43 days.

    Senior year began before the first day of school. On August 1st, college applications

were opened and the race to May 1st began. In 10 days, that race will end. In 10 days, the

decision will be made. 35 essays, 15 scholarships, 9 schools, and 1 decision later and it is

finally over. Every essay I wrote came from a place of passion. I wrote about fears and love and

everything in between. After 35 essays, I was exhausted. But every moment of doubt and

argument over word choice paid off when I received the acceptance letter. I will attend the

University of Louisville next year as a McConnell Scholar and owe it all to the people who have

shaped my writing.

    Four years ago almost to the day, I sat in my senior English class and wrote my senior

portfolio piece. While much of what I wrote in that letter has changed, a few things remain. In 71

days I will once again be an alumni with four more years of education under my belt. While the

school may be different I remember the same feeling of awe of the seniors I met my freshman

year and can confirm that I was once again exhausted by applications this year. But to quote my

18-year-old self, “But every moment of doubt and argument over word choice paid off when I

received the acceptance letter.” In August I will be walking through the front doors of a new

school preparing for four more years of education as a medical student. I once again feel as

though I owe my success to those around me who have supported me and educated me for the

last four years. I owe so much of my success to the McConnell Scholars Program.

    What I truly want to say is thank you. To the McConnell Scholars Program, to my class,

Dr.Gregg, and to all the center staff thank you for believing in me and making the last four years

incredible. When I was 18 I said that high school did not go by in the blink of an eye but as I look

forward to 71 days from now, to walking across the stage at my college graduation, I can say

confidently that the last four years flew by. So to every scholar younger than me, cherish every

seminar or reading that you have been putting off because these people and this place are

something special, and before you know it you too will be only 71 days from the end.

Greta Noble is a McConnell Scholar in the class of 2025. She is studying biology, environmental science, political science, and Spanish.