By Rachel Chen
I used to believe that if I didn’t read the end of a book, it never ended. Like if I didn’t finish Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix or Mockingjay, Sirius and Rue would go on existing perpetually, even aging and dying naturally. (Spoiler alert!) The characters would find a way out, and somehow everyone would live happily ever after. Or at least, you know, live.
That’s a bit like how I feel right now, at the start of my senior year. In the books of our high school lives, we’re hovering right on the precipice of the grand finale. There’s so much anxiety and suspense in the air, but there’s also this great sense of potential and excitement for the ending—it’s a rollercoaster ride and I don’t know if I’m screaming out of fear or exhilaration.
Because the thing is, I’m not scared of what I’ll find at the bottom. I know my friends and family will be there to catch me and cheer, just like I know every single one of us will go on to be happy, do great things, and change the world. It’s not the fear that gets me, but the anticipation. Where will I find myself when I open my eyes and catch my breath?
I honestly have no idea.
All I know is that our stories are shaped by the relationships we’ve formed, the roles we play, and the duties we owe. Every failed side quest and hilarious mishap has pushed us along; every Forbidden Forest explored and boss battle conquered has moved our character development and story arch. All this rising action leads up to an inevitable conclusion—and once we know that conclusion, we can never change it again. And that terrifies me. What if I close this chapter of my life regretting that I didn’t finish strong?
So I guess what I’ve realized is that now is a good time to evaluate the narrative I’ve written at Pingry and decide how I want it to end. Fortunately, it’s not yet set in stone. My fellow seniors and I are still writing; we still have a say in how our Pingry adventures wrap up. It’s not too late to change some storylines—to fix that friendship you lost in Chapter Five, say, or to tie up the loose ends from that misplaced romantic subplot. Certainly, it’s time to call upon that powerful wizard ally for advice and support. God only knows that we need all the help we can get in these next few months.
To my underclassmen too, all of you familiar faces I love and unfamiliar faces I can’t wait to meet: Now is the time to write. Write the story you want to read, the adventure you want to tell. Commit yourself to being the best and bravest version of yourself now, because all your sweat and tears add up. You will thank yourself for it later.
Now my question to you is: How do you want your story to end? And what are you going to do about it?
There will come a moment when we’ve all finished our journeys. We’ll turn the final page, close the cover, and mull over the endings we discovered. We’ll either set it on the shelf or burn it, depending on how you feel about your narrative. But either way we can’t go back to reread it, to experience it again for the first time.
That moment will inevitably arrive—after all, despite my denial, Sirius and Rue still die in their respective books—so let’s focus on the present, while we still hold the pen in our hands. Let’s write our stories as they’re being told. Let’s change the endings while we still can.