Ethan Boyer | Senior 2017 | Regal Photography

I first met Ethan on the school bus. It was my very first day of high school, and I was terrified. It was Ethan's first day of kindergarten, and he was, well...more than terrified. For four and a half miles, I stood on the bus's stairs, holding that adorably pitiful child by his legs, while he bawled and clutched the door lever for dear life.

I walked into my first day of high school with a slobbery, snotty shirt, a fresh rip in my brand new jeans from the razor sharp ledge of the bus steps, and a huge smile on my face.

Solidarity with a five-year-old was all I needed to get through my first day of high school.

It's okay to be scared. It's okay to fear the unknown sometimes. But all your best years are ahead of you, Ethan. Take it from this old lady, (who cried on her first day of middle school, high school, AND college) you don't ever have to grow up.

It's for suckers, anyway.