A walk down Matric lane

WARNING: Walk down memory lane sequence about to begin. You have been advised of the contents.

Listening to OneRepublic's "Goodlife" and looking through the photos of my brother's last day at school is not helping my nostalgia.

I cannot believe it's been 3 years...
On our final day, those who had cars parked them in front of the school office and blasted 5fm from their speakers. Of course, this did not impress the teachers and the cars had to be moved and the radios turned off.

For the rest of the school the atmosphere was infectious. Who could not excited about being on the edge of freedom? The end was so close!

Writing our final messages

The day was spent signing shirts. We defaced the precious uniform that we had spent 5 years keeping neat and spotless - well, some of us.
Most of the girls fashioned pigtails and everyone donned a pair of sunglasses.

We were quarantined to the gym to the gym. We had to stay put until the school gathered for the final assembly. The final Matric assembly.

Matlha presenting the teachers their awards.

I remember our final walk through the corridors to our school hall. I remember the whole school and the teachers lining the edges of the corridors to clap us in. And I remember all the laughs, smiles and tears.

It was an emotional day. I had come to the end of my school career and in some instances the end of a number of friendships - Facebook doesn't count.

My last day meant the end of some pretty important friendships, because I would be matriculating with as many as 10 people I had spent 13 years of my 18 years of life with. I had attended Beaulieu Prep and Beaulieu College with these people and in most cases it was the end. These were people that had most likely seen me at my best and my worst. They were a huge part of my life and I was moving on. So yes, the idea of freedom and no more uniform was exciting, but there was so much more to my Matric final day than most people realised.

It's sad to see the end. But that only means that a new beginning is just around the corner. I can only wish my brother the best of luck for the future. I hope that his Matric exams go smoothly with a great reward at the end! And to the Matrics of 2011, good luck! 

The balloon tradition: not the most environmentally friendly tradition.