I went through the majority of my senior year knowing I was going to graduate at the end of June, but it honestly doesn’t mean I was ready—or that I’m ready now. It’s like you know the storm is coming, but you helplessly watch as it comes towards you.
Now I see the storm and maybe it really isn’t a storm, but more of the cliché ray of sunlight breaking through the last four years of storm clouds.
During the summer leading up to my senior year, I decided that I would live this last year in high school for myself. For the last three years, I did a lot of things for other people. And by other people, I’m not even talking about my parents or family. I’m talking about friends, acquaintances and even teachers.
Senior year was going to mark the beginning of living for myself, to make choices solely for the purpose of my well being. And I am proud to say that I did it. I have made myself into a better version of me. My mindset has changed, I don’t get caught up in the smaller details of life anymore. Who cares if that one random kid you’ve barely even talked to thinks you’re “uncool.”
Recently, I’ve been starting to really analyze the years I have spent in high school and how I have changed as a person. I noticed that it doesn’t really take much to sit down and think about all of the decisions you have made and the people you’ve met and it really does put things into perspective. I think the most important thing I learned is that the quantity of something never matters, quantity never means quality.
Just because you’ve been friends with someone for a large number of years doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to call a person you’ve only known for a short while your best friend.
The same goes for extracurriculars, if you’ve been on a sports team or a club for a long time, it doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to be captain or the president. I had to learn these things the hard way, but all in all, clarity of this really made things clearer in the big scheme of things.
It’s quite odd, but I remember standing in my bathroom staring at this purple El Pollo Loco cup that was under my leaking faucet, catching quite a large amount of droplets. I stood there for awhile, watching the water accumulate inside of that cup.
I thought about how small the droplets were, but the constant rate of the droplets falling made that cup completely full in less than a few hours. Small actions really do make a difference. You may not be able to fully attack a problem all at once, but chipping away slowly at something is just as good, if not better in some cases.
I also realized from this experience that small mistakes add up just as much as small achievements do. Every missed homework assignment, every formula you forgot to memorize, every extra credit question you decide not to pursue—it all adds up. So as cliché as it sounds, make it all count.
Take every mistake and every success into consideration. It all matters, even if someone tells you it doesn’t, every choice you make is a part of you, drawing people to you as well as away from you.
High school is a time of preparation and discovery. I want to say that my journey has ended, but it’s not really a journey at all. It’s a book and I’ve only just finished chapter one. So my little ones, go write your book the way you want and never let anyone stop you—even if it’s yourself.
TCHS School Newspaper