Class of 2012: Tomorrow's Future

Now the reminisces of high school are becoming an upmost blur of only memories.

It all started on Aug. 7, 2008. Young boys who looked much younger than their actual ages wore raggedy blue jeans and T-shirts as the young girls trying to impress the older boys were dressed to impress in Hollister shirts, caked-on make up, and had brand new Coach purses hanging from their shoulders. 

These young boys and girls were connected by one aspect that they will share for the rest of their lifetimes, although at this point they were merely only freshmen on the first day of their high school career. They were known as the Class of 2012.

As young teenagers, history was made that would change America interminably.  Democratic Sen. Barack Obama wins the presidential election against Republican Sen. John McCain to become the first African-American to be elected president of the United States. His campaign promising "change" influenced not only the adults of America but the rising youth as well. It was indirectly revealed to teenagers that anything is possible, exhibiting the want and need of change for America's tomorrow. 

Soon after, with high hopes for the future, parents and family members started losing their jobs relatively fast without warning. The kid that once had the huge house, every color Ralph Lauren polo shirt and the brand new BMW 3 series convertible abruptly found their family soon getting evicted and looking for an apartment to rent just to get by. 

Unemployment hit a 16-year high, 7.2 percent according to the Department of Labor. In January 2009 alone, 598,000 jobs were lost, as recorded by the Department of Labor, the highest number since December 1974.

Before long, the inevitable happened. Teens as a whole already heavily influenced by the immense terrorism threat after the 9/11 attacks were frightened yet again. 

The child's aunt that died in Tower One on that tragic, gloomy Sept. 11 morning and has yet to be able to move past it, was let down again. May 2, 2010, after discovering a bomb in a smoking vehicle parked in Times Square in New York City, police evacuated several blocks around the popular tourist spot. The bomb made of propane, gasoline and fireworks luckily did not explode, nevertheless, spooked the people of America whole heartedly. 

However, more recently, a time of celebration has encountered the citizens of the United States, giving America's youth a more positive outlook upon life as a whole. Kids' fathers are returning after 10 years of come-and-go absences due to war. Brothers and sisters that were deployed are coming back home to be reunited with families. In the fall of 2011, The War On Terror, the battle to protect our nation and stop terrorism throughout the world that has shaped teenagers lives ever since they were only toddlers, has ended.  

The Class of 2012 has been shaped by many historic events since their first step into . The high school kids who are seen as merely "stupid and young" to most of the world have been heavily influenced and changed throughout these experiences. Now the young boys and girls once heavily dependent on their parents have augmented to young men and women ready to walk the line to receive their hard-earned diploma and enter the real world alone. 

Four short years can alter the mindset of a generation forever. Juvenile men and women with an attitude of change and an anything-is-possible mentality in a few short months will enter the concrete phenomenon of society becoming the future of America. They are known as the Class of 2012.