I am so happy that mid semester has passed. Winter break’s over and it’s exactly what I needed; a break from it all.

I’ve never been one to make such a big deal about school vacations because in a sense it was the same as being at school (at least for me).

This year though, it’s a different story. For once in my life, my home life isn’t so bad. I mean there are still tons of unresolved issues there, but I finally feel like I belong somewhere.

School on the other hand is still such a big drag for me.

When I think about it, high school was a pretty hard transition for me. I didn’t realize it at the moment but now that’s it’s finally nearing its end I can kind of see the big picture.

I’ve made a lot of mistakes from the very beginning of my high school years.

I got mixed up un what adults would consider “the bad crowd” and all the good stuff that comes with it.

And although it got me into a lot of trouble, I really don’t think I’d take any of it back.

Through it all I experienced a lot of things that I don’t think I would have, had I stuck to the path that some of my former middle school friends walked down.

I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with being a good kid, it’s just that living a sheltered life keeps you from experiencing certain parts of life.

Even though those parts might be a tad bit on the negative side, lots of good comes out of it. You can become more understandable and open minded to alien ideas.

I learned a lot of tough life lessons and though I nearly broke down, I’m still holding on somehow.

Even though I’m still currently struggling to break free from all my previous mistakes, I think that in the end, I will be a stronger smarter person.

In my opinion, the only way to grow as a person is to go through tough times. Of course, in order to mature from such things, you must first conquer them.

I’ll end this with one of my favorite quotes that I believe sums up this column perfectly.

“To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.” Henri Louis Bergeson.