From a young age, I had always been given the nickname of "Phoenix." Why? Because, since the beginning of time, people had always noticed one thing. Whenever I had been brought down, I could always build myself back up again.

A phoenix, whenever it died, always regenerated itself from the ashes. My friends and my loved ones always said that whenever I had died on the inside, I could always regenerate myself from the ashes I had been burnt down to. It's a nickname that always stuck with me, and it probably will until the day I die.

No matter how many times I had been burnt down by those around me, it wasn't enough to destroy my wings. It wasn't enough to stop me from letting the wind flow through my wings, as I flew through the many obstacles to get where I was today. The wings of courage that I had grown myself helped me fly throughout this long, strenuous journey.

It was one that could've easily caused any phoenix like me to fall to the ground, defeated. I flew through storms of my mother's harsh words, strong winds of my peers' torments, and the lightning of lacking self confidence that attempted to drag me down.  But, here I was, at a place where I could grow even more as a person.

Glory and triumph was flowing throughout my body, as people were handed their diplomas. Through all the screaming, air horns, and loud music playing as we walked across the football field, all I could hear is my siblings' encouragement for me throughout this excruciating journey.

I never imagined that I'd be sitting there, in my cap and gown, hearing my teachers deliver their speeches about how much we've accomplished in our four years. But hearing my history teacher call out, "Nicole Wilson," when reading out the graduating class was the cherry on the ice cream sundae.

Frolicking up there, shaking his hand, and the feel of the diploma resting idly in my hands felt like bliss. The sound of my peers' applause balanced out the complicated mixture of emotions I was feeling at that moment.

My vision was blurred with the tears dampening my eyes, and the speeches from our superintendent seemed insignificant considering the accomplishments that I had done in order to get to my graduation.  Everything in that moment was perfect.

Amongst all of us, we all had a mutual thirst that was waiting to be quenched. We all had waited so long to let the feeling of sweet triumph overcome us, and our principal wanted us to have the same kind of patience when it came to the long awaited news. After the last diploma had been gifted to the deserving student, our principal announced, "I'm proud to say that this class has officially graduated."

As soon as he announced that, the harmonious sound of applause was replaced with the expected sound of accomplished cheers. My first instinct was to yank the cap off of my head and toss it up in the air. Soon enough, the hot, cloudless weather was replaced by the occasion of raining graduation caps.

Without another warning, my peers' families ran down from the bleachers to congratulate their children and friends. Immediately, my head craned to try and find my family, who was probably scrambling across the entire field in an attempt to find me. Surely enough, I saw two familiar figures bolting towards me, with piles of presents stocked up in their arms.

Without uttering a single word, my sister, Elena, just threw her arms around me and squeezed me like a tube of toothpaste. "YOU FINALLY DID IT, NICOLE! OH MY GOSH, I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!" she squealed, as she continued to attempt to crush my ribs and possibly flatten my lungs in the process.

Her hand stroked my blonde locks, while Dominic's, my brother, hand clamped down onto her shoulder. Her breath, heavier than the burdens that had been placed on my shoulders throughout high school, repeatedly hitched as she stroked my back gently, unlike the crushing force of the hug.

Eventually, Dominic cleared his throat a little bit, and I could almost feel Elena roll her eyes a little bit. The tight grip her arms have around me loosened, and she took the moment to look in my eyes. Her usually icy blue eyes, often with a plethora of emotions knit in, glistened in the California sunset with fresh tears.

While sniffling, Elena stepped aside to let my brother embrace me. A proud, joyous smile is sculpted across Dominic's face, in which I return a reassuring smile. Without another word uttered between us, Dom threw his arms around me, and lifted me up into the air like I was a feather.

"YOU DID IT, NICOLE!" he screamed, as he spun me around.

I started to chuckle uncontrollably, as I said, "I DID IT, DOM-BEAR!" He spun me around long enough for me to start to get dizzy, which he sensed. He immediately set me down, and like Elena, his eyes also shone with tears.

"Go see Dad," he told me, in which I immediately obeyed. My head craned to see my dad idly sitting in his wheelchair, waiting to embrace me. Proudly, I held my head up high, with my diploma cradled in my arms, and I strut over to where he was waiting.

I knelt down to be on an eye to eye level with my dad. His eyes are filled with tears once he sees me in my cap and gown. His eyes shifted over to the diploma that's resting in my hands. Slowly, his hand raised to rest onto my diploma. His glance shifted to my eyes, and he leaned closer to hug me. I return his hug, and I can feel Dominic softly patting my back.

"I'm so proud of you, Nicole. So proud," he exclaimed, and a smile spread across my face. Considering my dad has been my number one supporter since day 1, it's a blessing to receive his confession of pride.

Suddenly, I felt another two hands clamp down on my shoulders. They started to gently stroke them, and a chuckle escaped my lips. I turn around, and my best friend, Nina, was right there, beaming at me. "You did it, girl," she said happily, and we wrapped our arms around each other in the tightest of hugs. It felt good to accomplish something so extraordinary with someone who had seen you at your worst and your best.

Nina strode over to my dad. "Hey, Mr. W. How are you?" she asks pleasantly. My dad flashes her his infectious smile.

"Hey, Nina. Doing well. My health is pretty good, and the doctor said that I should be doing fine," he said, and Nina grins. As they continued to converse, my head craned around to catch a glimpse of what was happening on the field. My peers were taking pictures, smiling, holding flowers, and hugging each other.

The tall lights were being turned on due to the sun setting, and darkness was creeping upon the entire stadium. The once scalding heat had been replaced with a crisp, refreshing night air.

"NINA! NICOLE!" a voice hollered behind us, breaking the silent trance I was in. I turned around, and Nina's parents were racing towards us. I waved frantically at them.

"Adiva! Laidan! Hey!" I say cheerfully. They spurt towards me and tackle me in another rib-crushing hug.

"We're so proud of you, dear! We can't believe that you're going to go to college with Nina! This is awesome!" Adiva exclaimed. I beamed.

"Well, I couldn't have done it without you guys. Thank you guys," I tell them. Laidan puts on a slight smile.

"It was our pleasure, dear," he said kindly.

"Nicole! Over here!" two more voices call as I'm done talking to Nina's parents. My head cranes around, and two more people are running towards me, with flowers and gifts. Lara and Roy, Dom and Elena's partners, respectively, are running towards me with smiles across their faces. Before I have any time to react, they threw themselves on me, engulfing me in a rib crushing hug.

"You did it! Congratulations!" they say in my ear as they continue to crush me in their clutches. Just when I was starting to heal from Elena almost breaking my ribs, Lara almost did it again. I was too full of adrenaline and joy at that point to care.

After a while, they release me from being crushed in their arms. Lara, who was always vibrant and cheerful, just shot me a proud look. Roy had something behind his arms that he wanted to give me. He had a sheepish smile on his face, because he had always been such a shy guy.

After receiving a nudge from Lara, Roy handed me a bouquet of red roses, with the shy look on his face intensifying. "These are for you. As a graduation gift," he coyly says, and my face lights up. I took the flowers, with a smile beaming on my face.

"They're beautiful! Thank you so much!" I tell him, as Lara steps up to me.

"I got something for you too," she tells me, and my eyes darted towards the teddy bear that her hands were clutching. Its kind eyes are staring at me, with a "congratulations" tag tied around the neck with a glittery red ribbon. It's arms were open, like it was screaming to be hugged.

Without another moment's hesitation, I take it and hug it so tightly. The soft fur against my skin intensifies my happiness, as I cuddle it in my arms. The happiness travels onto my face, in a smile towards Lara.

"Thank you guys. This is amazing. The bear is so floofy!" I say, and I engulfed them in a big hug again. After years of hard work, I finally completed one chapter of my life that I looked forward to for so many years. However, little did I know that there was a lot more in store for me in the upcoming years.

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You guys have no idea how long I've been waiting to release this chapter. I've been working on this for a while, and I was waiting until I knew that I was going to finish it that I decided tell you guys. What do you think the future has in store for Nicole.

Hey everyone! How are you all doing? I know some people knew about Phoenix already, and some have been waiting for it eagerly. *looks at a special someone* Anyways, for those that decided to check out this first chapter, I hope it didn't disappoint you, and I hope you guys stick around for the rest, because it's going to be one hell of a ride.

That's pretty much it. Hope you guys liked this chapter!

Please vote/comment/share/follow/message if you like my work! See you all in the next chapter!

Love you guys,

Shree