High school was not an endless hellhole of existential discontent; that was middle school. Middle school was a place where no one understood me, and I could only call a handful of people friends.
Thinking this trend would continue, I let myself be shy but studious for a large portion of high school. In preparing for college, I thought I would focus on my grades and maintain a small group of friends; what I didn’t know was that happiness and success aren’t mutually exclusive.
My upperclassman years taught me that I can have my cake and eat it, too. My friend circle is larger now than I thought it would ever be, and I love it. I don’t feel judged, nor do I feel like anyone is in my way.
The lesson I’d like to impart is thus: befriend people who make you feel worthy, but don’t stop you from being your best.
Now it’s time for shout-outs. For making high school remotely bearable, I’d like to especially thank Bryan Johnson, Deborah Robbins, Todd Shattuck, amongst others. As for my friends, I’d like to especially give love and thanks to, in probably no particular order, Kelsey, Sunny, Clara, Gabby, Ellaine, Lisa, Jon, Shannon, Gio, Siera, Iqra, Elias, and Jorgito the Great.
I leave high school with a few regrets. I enjoyed being involved in the school, but I know I could have, and should have, gone a step further in my involvement.
I know now I should have been more social and more optimistic. But I can be happy with the knowledge that I can take these lessons with me into college. My high school education went outside of the classroom.