I have this fear that sprouts up within me whenever I embark on a deep clean of my bedroom. As I dust and organize my closet, my eyes catch sight of my scrapbook, hot pink with Hello Kitty smack dab in the center. Had I not spent so much time as a kid washi-taping and glitter pasting photographs into my scrapbook, many early moments of my life would simply be figments of my imagination, lost to life’s fast pace.
Each time I flip through my scrapbook, it transports me back in time, making my heart ache for days gone by while simultaneously racing in anticipation for the future. My recounting stops in eighth grade, the last time I thoughtfully sat down and updated my book. However, throughout senior year, I have constantly noticed my scrapbook lingering at the top of my closet, begging to be brought back to life, and its empty pages waiting to be filled with recent memories.
As I grow older, I constantly fear that my youth will float away into the deep corners of my mind and only surface at random times. The sight of my scrapbook, however, always brings me back through the memorable moments I have experienced, and I believe my high school experience is something worth recording. Over the last few months, I compiled knick-knacks and mementos from all four years of high school into a single tote bag, and used my final spring break of high school to reminisce and update my scrapbook to the present.
The activity took me a few days, yet I would not have wanted to spend my spring break any other way. From reminiscing on my first days of high school to the various adventures with The Panther staff in New York City and senior activities with my friends, I remembered the conversations, laughter and joy I felt in those moments. Although I internally cringe at some freshman moments, I also feel nostalgic for that time, when high school was only just beginning. Now, as the clock ticks down to graduation, I approach each day as an opportunity. An opportunity to live in the present, to connect with more people and, most of all, to capture my experiences as they occur. No matter my age or the stage in my life, I hope to continue capturing my life in some form of physical media. My scrapbook still has many blank pages waiting for me, and in my opinion, there is no better way to capture and remember my journey. Whether you consider your life big or small, ordinary or extraordinary, it is one worth remembering.
