The beginning of April has to be my favorite time of the year, for many reasons. The weather is at its nicest, we get much needed time off school during Spring Break, the highly anticipated March Madness finals are being played, and most importantly school will be out in two months. It can't get any better than this.

 

To begin with, around February it is snowing outside and during March the weather is typically cold and rainy. April usually has the best weather, warm and sunny with just the right amount of breeze. There are the occasional tornadoes, but usually they don't come until later until May. Overall, the weather in April is awesome.

 

Getting two school days and the weekend off in this weather for Spring Break was more than I could ask for. Although the weather wasn't warm and sunny for all four days, it was the majority of the time. During the sunny days I was outside almost all day long and during the cloudy days I would stay inside and catch up on the college basketball world or sleep. Although I didn't do anything terribly exciting this year for Spring Break, being able to stay home, relax, and forget about school for a few days was nice.

 

The best part of this time of year is getting close to school being out for the summer. When I walk down the hallway and see everyone wearing shorts, a t-shirt, and flip-flops, that's when it really hits me how close summer vacation is. The last few weeks of school feel different than the other weeks. Since finals are about to be given, most teachers don't assign much homework during these weeks, so there is more free time for everyone. When the students who are taking college classes start cramming to study for finals the environment changes to hectic, but before that and right after Spring Break the environment at school is relaxed.

 

With all of these reasons to love this time of year there couldn't possibly be anything negative about it right? Wrong. While this is my favorite time of the year, it is also my least favorite, because graduation is close. During my freshman year I had a seniors in a few of my classes and during lunch that I became friends with almost instantly. I knew they would graduate high school, but the end of the year seemed so far away at the time. Time flew by and before I knew it my senior friends were about to graduate and saying good-bye to them was one of the hardest things I'd ever had to do. Although I would still talk to them, I knew it wouldn't be the same as being in school with them.

 

The next year, my sophomore year, was when I started joining clubs and doing other extra-curricular activities, clubs and activities where most of the officers were seniors. There were more seniors in my classes too. I'd gotten used to seeing them everyday. When graduation time came, the seniors leaving was ten times harder and more emotional for me. I still miss them.

 

This year I don't know how I'm going to get through the seniors graduating. Out of all the senior classes during my high school years, this one is the one I've spend the most time with and become closest to. I've been in extra-curricular activities with them for two years or more now. Every one of my classes this year has seniors in it. Almost half of my friends are graduating this year. Again, I know I'll still talk to them, but it won't be the same. While this is the best time of the year for me, it is also the worst.