I always knew this day would come but I wasn’t expecting it to come this fast. My last few days of high school are here. Everyone wants to grow up until reality sets in and they realize that it is happening and it’s happening fast. I am thankful for all the lessons I have learned from PHS and I will forever cherish the memories I have made here. Now let us take a trip down memory lane and go through the best and at times the worst 4 years of my life so far.

Freshman year

Little ole freshman Kiara was absolutely terrified to go into high school. Junior High felt like a breeze and I had no idea how high school was going to go. My 8th-grade year got cut short because of COVID-19 which changed everything. Going into freshman year was a different experience for my class. We had to wear masks and social distancing was a huge thing. This year was most definitely the hardest mentally out of the 4 years of my high school career. Every teacher was given a warning about our class because we tend to be a little talkative…crazy, right?! Walking into 1st hour Biology with Mr.Smith you would’ve thought he had the wrong class because no one made a sound! That quickly began to change, but I’m sure it was nice for the teachers while it lasted. This year I definitely had the most regret for not putting myself out there. I didn’t really join any clubs. That is a bit of advice I have for the underclassman. Put yourself out there, join groups, and don’t be afraid do be who you are. On a better note, my academics freshman year were good. I was on the Honor Roll and I accomplished many goals.Sophomore year 

Sophomore year I still kept up on my grades which lead me to be on the honor roll. I decided to stop playing volleyball, but I still continued playing softball. I regret not continuing to play volleyball, but I was glad I made all the amazing memories I did make while I played. I don’t really remember much of sophomore year, but it was starting to feel somewhat normal again. Covid was still around but the rules and regulations weren’t as strict. Zoey Beabout and I grew very close sophomore year. If you saw Zoey or I, the other one wasn’t far behind.

Junior year

Junior year was when everything started to finally hit me; I only had 2 years left of high school. I really started to take it all in and make it one of the best years of high school. This school year is when Peio Lapiedra came to the US from Spain. When I first saw Peio I didn’t even realize I was looking at one of my best friends. This year Peio, Briley, and I became really close. There wasn’t a time you didn’t see us together. I’ll always cherish the memories I have with Peio. This was also a moment when I realized you don’t know what you have until it is gone. I was succeeding in my academics and everything seemed to be going very well. I did make the toughest decision of my life my junior year….quitting softball. I had been in a battle with myself for a long time about whether or not I still wanted to be involved in the sport I grew up loving. I did not want to leave my softball family, but I decided it was what was best for me. I will forever cherish and remember the memories I made on this team, but in the long run this was the best decision for me.

Senior year

Senior year is finally here. This year has been crazy, from deciding what college I wanted to attend, my future career, and keeping up with my academics. I have never been so busy in my life. At the beginning of this year I still was undecided on what I wanted to do or what college I wanted to attend. I visited multiple places and applied to many more. One place in particular stuck out to me –Eastern Illinois University. The second I walked around campus for the first time I knew that was what I was going to call home for the next 4 years. I will be majoring in Elementary Education and I could not be more excited. I have always had a passion for teaching and helping others. I have worked so hard for all of this and I can finally say I am done! I have kept up in my academics which was finally all worth it when we got our awards at the awards ceremony. I will be graduating with high honors, being a part of National Honor Society, Student Senate, Drama Club, and History Club, and I also was awarded some amazing scholarships. These past few years have been nothing but pure chaos, but I would not trade it for anything. I have learned so many amazing lessons and skills and I can only thank PHS for that! None of it feels real but I am excited for what the future has in store for me.