Seventeen. Seventeen years of being alive. Seventeen years of being in Manhattan, Kansas. Growing up, I watched game after game of Manhattan High School sports. I longed for the day where I could finally move up to the school. I wanted to be one of the “big kids.”

But a lot can happen in 17 years. As a person, I have changed. Manhattan has changed. Undoubtedly, Manhattan High has changed.

I entered Manhattan High like most people in the graduating class of 2018, at the confusing and unsymmetrical East campus. While I listened to upperclassmen who warned me of how fast the next four years would go, I never understood until it came time to write this column, my final column.

Four years. Four years of attending football games, four years of PowderPuff cheer routines, four years of playing volleyball, four years of friendship and four years of being incredibly involved in Manhattan High. I wouldn’t change a single minute of it.

Busy weeks for me meant running from practices to club meetings, from AP study sessions to high school dances, intramural games to yearbook worknights. However, I recommend that all underclassmen make their lives busy.

When I say “busy” I do not mean overwhelming yourself, because believe it or not, everyone has a breaking point. There is a lot of balance and effort that goes into being an involved student. I truly believe the more active in the school and the community you are, the happier you will be. Through these activities, sports and clubs, you will encounter some of your best friends. Among these people you will also meet students and teachers that challenge you to be the best you can be.

Time goes faster than you think. One day you’re struggling to walk through your class schedule at the East campus, and the next thing you know you are preparing for graduation.

Mondays may not get better, tests may get harder and post-secondary education decisions may need to be made before you would like, but lots of other things change.

The time has come where I am finally the “big kid” and sometimes it is hard for even me to believe. I continued to watch game after game of Manhattan High sports, because some things never change.

A lot has happened in the span of four years.

Through a lot of love, laughter, heartbreak, tears and smiles, the class of 2018 finally did it. It is time to graduate, finally. I look back at my high school career with great fondness and satisfaction, but I know the best is still to come.

There will be times where we wish we could slow down the clock, times we wish would speed up, moments where we wish we could hit pause and memories we wish we could relive. Seventeen years has held many memories, learning opportunities, friendships, celebrations, losses, achievement and failure. However, all the time was worth it. All the studying was worth it.  After 17 years in Manhattan, there has been a lot of consistency in my life due to this, but it hasn’t stopped the world from changing. Open fields turned into new housing developments, businesses have come and gone, Bill Snyder Family Stadium was reconstructed, and we grew up.

Time is precious, make the next 17 years count and don’t let a day go by without accomplishing something.

These past four years I have been writing for this publication, so for one last time I wish you the best of luck.

From your Blue M Editor-in-Chief,

Megan Klug