While many students may approach the end of high school saddened by the conclusion of an era, or ecstatic for the chance to rid themselves of parental bonds, I look to the future with hope to accomplish amazing things. Lately I have been pondering what I want my legacy to be (not just for this school, but for life in general), and after careful consideration, I have decided that I want my life to be as random and mismatched as possible; in the distant future, I want my kids to be amazed at the adventures that I partook in. Thus, I have decided to make a jumbled and pretentious list of accomplishments and achievements that I seek to fulfill in the future:

1. Be an extra on Game of Thrones

2. Go one on one with MJ

3. Kick it with Kanye

4. Engage in a duel

5. Make a large, amazingly comfortable quilt

6. Recreate Arnold’s room from Hey Arnold 

7. Sing “Roses” by Outkast to a large crowd

8. Meet a girl that likes Best Coast and Nas as much as me

9. Tame a wild animal (i.e. squirrel, beaver, cardinal)

10. Attend a Bob Ross painting class

11. Drive across the country in a Lincoln Continental listening to only the Allman Brothers Band

I realize that these may never be accomplished, but just by writing and reviewing them, you begin to notice how boundless life can be. To put it simply, I now understand, after 17 long and trying years on this earth, that you determine your legacy. And personally, I would rather be referred to as “Sam Schmieg: The Baby Seal Tamer” than “Sam Schmieg: The Lifeless Sap Who Owns a Trendy BMW.”