Memories of my three years of high school

　　Today is Wednesday, July 10, 2019.
　　It's been a month and a few days since I finished high school. Well, I have a lot of feelings. Every day I don't have to follow a rigid schedule, I don't have to get up early and stay up late, I don't have to study for exams, I don't have to work so hard. And our school's unique "Calories" textbook is all just a memory now. Lately, I keep thinking about some trivial things from high school: my political science homeroom teacher, the principles and methodologies, and even trying to memorize them; I remember Mr. Zhao, the math teacher who would joke around with classmates, especially his class representative; I remember my Chinese teacher, whose most striking feature was her hair; I remember my lovely English teacher, whom classmates said only knew how to use PowerPoint slides; I remember my humorous and witty history teacher; I remember my geography teacher who had just gotten married. All of these are memories of high school, the most beautiful ones. Thinking back to the military training in my first year, the march to Taoshan, I didn't make it to the end and had to take the bus back. To be honest, I could have persevered, but I chose to take the bus. If I had another chance, I would definitely have persevered to the end.
　　My first year of high school was the most enjoyable and relaxed, because I hadn't yet realized the harsh realities of high school. You could say I coasted through it. In my second year, the studies became more intense, and exams were frequent. Every exam score mattered because seating arrangements were based on grades, and nobody wanted to sit at the back. Since I chose humanities, memorization was essential, and thankfully, I was pretty fast at it. And so, slowly, I made it through my second year of high school.
　　My senior year was the most exhausting year of my life so far. They say without the college entrance exam, there's no youth. Indeed, the path to the college entrance exam was full of hardship. The exams themselves were getting closer and closer, not to mention the various school incentive activities, the praise wall downstairs, the honor roll outside the classroom, the Principal Dan Dan in the corridor every morning and evening self-study session, and the leaders checking classes during lessons. Every day when the inspectors passed by, the students would cough, saying, "The inspectors are here!" Haha, thinking about it now makes me want to laugh. I remember in the last few days, everyone was restless and impatient, all thinking about the post-exam celebrations.
　　The flag-raising ceremony on June 3rd was so solemn; it was the last flag-raising ceremony of the high school year. Each class shouted its own slogan, and the younger students from grades 10 and 11 cheered them on. The sad music "Don't Say Goodbye" was playing, but it really was time to say goodbye.
　　Entering the college entrance exam hall, I wasn't very nervous, just like any other exam. I had taken nine mock exams, and this was the tenth—a lucky number, a perfect ten, haha.
　　After the exam, it was indeed a celebration! We took graduation photos, had a farewell dinner, and played day and night for several days. Just like the teachers said, we had enough fun. Then, the exam results came out. They were about what I estimated, but still not ideal—probably only a third-tier university. To be honest, I really didn't want to retake it. I couldn't bear another year; it would be too much torture. So be it.
　　This is my three years of high school life. Looking back now, I feel warmth and emotion. Years later, when I look back again, the feeling will definitely be different. I was so lucky to meet those teachers and classmates during the most beautiful years of my life. I wish us all the best in the future, and I hope that at our class reunion many years from now, we can still talk about those old times, reminiscing and feeling moved together.
　　Let's leave our youth at Tieli No. 1 High School, in the most beautiful years of our lives!