What is high school?
I've been asking myself this question a lot lately, but I guess I've never fully answered it. I've kept it in mind since freshmen year, when I was completely new and confused about a school this big. To me - as a twerpy little fourteen-year-old who tripped over the laces of her Converse and kept her head down to avoid making eye contact with the seniors - in the beginning, it was something to be feared. It was a prison. It was a place that I didn't want to be a part of until the middle of that year.
Now that I'm a junior - a sixteen-turning-seventeen-year-old who walks with more confidence than she once did and says hello to the seniors in the halls - I have a totally contrasting view. High school is something that I wish I didn't take for granted. High school is something that, right now, may seem difficult, but it's something that I don't want to end just yet. It's fun. It's different. My school, I guess, is just really great in that way, because we all act like a family. Maybe I'm just lucky to have ended up in the small New Jersey town that I did.
You know, when people say that "high school is the best four years of your life," I can see where they're coming from. I may still cry over essays out of stress or throw my pencil across the room when I can't work on a project any longer, but think about it. Is that what they were referring to when they said that? Of course not. High school is measured by everything else in between: the friends, the sports, the clubs, the laughs, the promises (both kept & broken), the parties, the romances, the secrets - it's a fucking roller coaster ride, putting it bluntly. And even though roller coasters are frightening in some parts, they're awesome. You come off with so much adrenaline and a huge smile on your face (unless you're feeling sick to your stomach, like I probably would be).
When I first walked through the doors, I never thought I'd ever step off this ride with a smile on my face. I'm not near the end - sure, maybe I'm more than halfway there - but I already know that it's going to get better. Everything does. There are going to be turns and drops and flips along the way, but that's what accelerates us.
So I guess in the future, when my son or daughter asks me what high school is like, I'm going to give them the most simple answer: you're going to love it.
Because you're never going to be younger than you are now.
I've been asking myself this question a lot lately, but I guess I've never fully answered it. I've kept it in mind since freshmen year, when I was completely new and confused about a school this big. To me - as a twerpy little fourteen-year-old who tripped over the laces of her Converse and kept her head down to avoid making eye contact with the seniors - in the beginning, it was something to be feared. It was a prison. It was a place that I didn't want to be a part of until the middle of that year.
Now that I'm a junior - a sixteen-turning-seventeen-year-old who walks with more confidence than she once did and says hello to the seniors in the halls - I have a totally contrasting view. High school is something that I wish I didn't take for granted. High school is something that, right now, may seem difficult, but it's something that I don't want to end just yet. It's fun. It's different. My school, I guess, is just really great in that way, because we all act like a family. Maybe I'm just lucky to have ended up in the small New Jersey town that I did.
You know, when people say that "high school is the best four years of your life," I can see where they're coming from. I may still cry over essays out of stress or throw my pencil across the room when I can't work on a project any longer, but think about it. Is that what they were referring to when they said that? Of course not. High school is measured by everything else in between: the friends, the sports, the clubs, the laughs, the promises (both kept & broken), the parties, the romances, the secrets - it's a fucking roller coaster ride, putting it bluntly. And even though roller coasters are frightening in some parts, they're awesome. You come off with so much adrenaline and a huge smile on your face (unless you're feeling sick to your stomach, like I probably would be).
When I first walked through the doors, I never thought I'd ever step off this ride with a smile on my face. I'm not near the end - sure, maybe I'm more than halfway there - but I already know that it's going to get better. Everything does. There are going to be turns and drops and flips along the way, but that's what accelerates us.
So I guess in the future, when my son or daughter asks me what high school is like, I'm going to give them the most simple answer: you're going to love it.
Because you're never going to be younger than you are now.
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