One thing that has stuck in my mind all these years was something a senior said to me when I was an incoming freshman. She told me not to waste these years just going to school and going home. Instead she said to join clubs, take interesting classes, and go to as many events as I could. Looking back upon her high school years she told me she had not really done anything, and regretted it greatly.
I owe a lot to high school. In these last four years I have learned so many lessons, experienced so many new things, and met so many new people. At the end of my senior year, I feel very blessed and thankful for everything I have gotten to be a part of. I, unlike that senior filled with regret, have nothing I can think of that I would change about my high school years. Sure, I made mistakes and had hard times. I was a naive freshman like any other and I cringe at half the things I did back then. But all in all, I wouldn’t change a thing because I know in the end I did my best, I was true to myself, and I pushed myself to try new things.
One of the biggest lessons I learned in high school is that essentially nothing will be like you expect. High school is chock full of surprises around every corner. I had to basically forget everything I watched in movies or TV or read about it books. This is real life, and real life is most certainly unpredictable. There were times I found myself thinking “this isn’t supposed to happen like this.” But that was okay. I have learned to live in the moment and embrace change as it comes my way. Just because something is not going how you expected it, doesn’t mean it won’t be something great in the end.
I also learned that high school is sometimes just a big balancing act. There are so many facets to your life when you are in high school. You have to deal with homework, classes, family, friends, work, and extracurriculars, all at once. Meanwhile, you are trying to figure out who you really are and what you really want to do now as well as in the future.
Being a senior is a weird feeling. When I graduate, I am realizing that I am not only leaving high school, I am leaving my family, my church, my city, my friends. I am leaving those times when I can come home and talk to my parents about my day. I am leaving the comfort and security of Mansfield and the house I have lived in since the age of five. I am leaving my dog, who sleeps next to me every night. I am leaving my teachers who have guided me and cared about me. I am leaving the late night laughs with my little sister. I am leaving the amazing meals my mom makes. I am leaving some of the best people I have ever met.
Don’t get me wrong, some days I am beyond excited to go to college and start a new chapter of my life. Other days I want to lay in bed and cry about leaving everything I love and know. Lately I have been trying to reconcile those two opposite feelings. I think I have found that I have to acknowledge that I have made good memories here, but leave them behind to make many more. I will still be looking forward to any chance I get to be back at home though.
