The bus comes to a stop and my heart begins to beat a little bit faster. I watch my feet as I walk down the aisle, trying not to trip. I take a quick glance down at my phone and I skip songs till my favorite one starts to play. I turn it up to the point where I can’t hear anything around me.

By now I manage to get off the bus without falling. I can’t help but notice how clean the newly paved sidewalks are. There are no scuff marks or gum that has been blackened by the bottom of shoes.  I’m walking towards the freshly painted green and yellow buildings to meet up with my friends. Everything is so new and untouched. I glance toward the football field and start to imagine how the first football game will be. I can imagine everyone cheering, the team making their first touchdown while friends huddle up in the stadium anticipating the outcome of the game. I continue to walk toward my friends. I walk past many familiar faces, with equally as many new ones. I try to smile, but I can’t hide the fact that I am just as nervous as everyone else. Once I enter through the heavy double doors I spot them, they are all huddled against the dark green lockers, waving and smiling. They embrace me while asking about my summer while telling me they missed me. I feel the knots in my stomach relax a little. We decide to go find our lockers before the bell rings. We had found them on registration day with our parents, but that seemed like a while ago and we had forgotten. Oddly enough, all three of our lockers ended up being close to one another. I pull out the slip of paper from my pocket that has the combination on it. Since it is brand new, the lock glides effortlessly left and right as I enter the combination.

Then, the bell rings interrupting my efforts to see the inside of my brand new, dark green, unused locker. I look down at my schedule to see what room my first period is in. I give my friends hugs and wish them luck on their first days as I start my journey to find room 4-228. After a little bit of walking, I manage to find my way there. I walk in and sit down. The tables are so shiny, and the chairs are stiff from being unused. The classroom seems giant. My peers start to file in and awkwardly find places to sit. The smell of new school supplies is in the air. Everyone actually has paper and pens. Once the room was pretty much full the late bell rang. My teacher started off by introducing herself and explaining the expectations of the class. As she did this she passed a syllabus to everyone; I had this teacher last year so I already knew what she expected of me. I zoned out for a minute, thinking of the next two years of my life in this place. I envisioned my Junior Prom and Senior Prom with my friends. I could see us all getting dressed up at my house then heading off with our dates, while we wave goodbye to our parents. I could imagine the first pep rally. The air filled with cheers and laughter, as each grade fights for the glorious title of spirit stick champions. I could imagine each and every day at lunch with my friends, as we talk about boys and our classes. I imagined all the good times I would have in this place. I knew there were going to be some bad times like the times I became stressed or heartbroken. The days I thought the world was going to fall apart, but all of these days, good and bad, were going to the best days of my life. One day I would be sitting in green and gold with all of my classmates as someone said, “Congratulations to the Cypress Creek High School class of 2019!”

These days are the days we will tell our children about. These are the days that will help shape us into the people we are to become. The bell snapped me out of my day dream. I got up, and couldn’t help but smile. The nerves had now vanished. This was the first day of the beginning my journey, and I couldn’t be prouder to be a Coyote.