Grade 12

Many see grade 12 as their year and their time to shine and 'live it up'; but I see it as the only thing standing in my way of getting out of this town and moving on to something bigger. Growing up in a small town with two obnoxious brothers, the only thing I can really look forward to is going to university and leaving Penticton behind. Grade 12 is simply a stepping stone in my life hopefully leading me on to better places and new people. Everyday I hear people talking about how great grade 12 is and how much fun it is and I can't help but wonder why I can't relate to them and feel the same way. In simple words it's because I don't care. All that matters to me is moving on from here and heading to a big city. Just like an 11 year old kid again, I find myself wanting to be the stars in the movies running away on an adventure, but instead I am stuck here for one more long, dragged out year. I find it unnecessary that at the age of 17 we are still stuck in a school after being here for 12 years already: learning math we will never use, history that is long gone, Spanish that we may speak once in our life, and writing techniques that, unless you are becoming a writer, we will never need. It's unnecessary, the level of learning we need doesn't venture past grade 11 at the most. By the age of 17 we should be able to choose our career and go off to school to pursue our dreams. I'm sure that I am not the only person who feels this way, most people have bigger dreams than small Penticton can handle and I am proud to say I am one of those people.