As April ends and May begins, I realize that my four years of high school are wrapping up. Between senior class pictures, picking up the graduation gown, applying to scholarship after scholarship, stressing over AP exams, and battling senioritis, I’ve pondered about the things I did, the things I did not do, the things I perhaps should have done, and what leaving high school means.

In high school, I studied, volunteered, and participated in extracurricular activities. I was hungry to learn, especially in my humanities courses. I brought in high grades, eagerly wrote short stories, participated in writing contests, played the violin in the school orchestra, volunteered at school and in the community, went to National Honor Society meetings, and critically thought about ideas and events. Doing things for the sake of doing them is important. Don’t do an activity for the sole purpose of putting it on a resume. Don’t do an activity because you think it will impress colleges. Do it because you want to do it, because you are passionate about it, because it will enrich you. The classes, teachers, and activities I had taught me invaluable lessons about life, and myself as a person. I am forever grateful for that.

Part of me, though, wishes that I had done things a bit differently. Maybe I should have gone to a few more school dances. Maybe I should have experimented with more extracurricular activities to see if I was interested in them. Maybe I should have taken more pictures. Maybe I should have spent more time with my friends.


Yet, the things I did and the things I did not do collectively brought me to where I am today – antsy to graduate high school and attend my dream school (which I was fortunate enough to be accepted to); a critical thinker whose thoughts have expanded so much since freshman year.

High school was neither a high nor a low point in my life – it was what I like to call a medium point. If it is a high point for you, great. However, it should never be the highest point. There is a world, a magnificent but scary world, beyond the walls of high school that is waiting for you. I, along with all of the other graduating seniors, will have a chance to turn those “maybes” into realities during college and beyond. You will too. Work hard and follow your heart, but remember that high school is not the be all and end all.