As senior year dwindles down to the very last moments, I have had some time to reflect on the choices I made in high school and how they got me to where I am today. I always thought that I’d be ready to graduate and get out of the long, sluggish years of K-12 schooling. Instead, I learned that the closer it got, the more I wished I had the chance to go back and change things that I did along the way. This remorse mainly comes from my choices in high school. If an underclassman is reading this somewhere out there, take this information from this slightly remorseful senior to heart.

I think my freshman year I was trying too hard to cling to middle school friendships– people I’d known and been with practically my whole life. I regret wasting so much time trying to convince myself that we were still a good match and trying to force the pieces of friendship together like an unsolvable puzzle. What I didn’t know then that I do now is that friendships shouldn’t be hard. Ups and downs are one thing, but if it feels like you are on a completely different space-time continuum with the people you call your friends, then you’re doing something wrong. I’m not telling you to ditch all your friends once you enter high school; what I am telling you to do is notice the signs that it may be better to part ways, and not dwell on how to “fix” something that can’t be fixed. Never stick to just one group. Have people in every corner for you.

Something else I wish I had known is that one bad grade does not define your overall understanding of a course. I spent all my high school years losing sleep over tests and stressing about what would happen if I didn’t see a big shiny “A” in Infinite Campus. Now, as an April senior, I know that perfection is unapologetically unattainable. You will take hundreds of tests throughout your high school education, and receiving high marks on every single one of them just isn’t realistic. I have always been a big studier, but things happen and sometimes a test just won’t go your way. Realizing that I’m still a capable student and that I do know what I’m doing took time and a lot of confidence. Don’t do what I did and wait until senior year to figure it out.

This next thing is something I knew really well as a freshman, but it got lost in the later years of high school. While I may not have grasped it again, remember, it’s okay to be by yourself. I was such a homebody at 15, and then out of nowhere, I wanted to be everywhere doing everything with everyone. I think the excitement of a brand new driver’s license and a good group of friends made me hit the gas pedal from zero to sixty. Now, it’s hard for me to be alone and do nothing. I find myself searching for distractions in everything, which can begin to be unhealthy. Find time to practice being alone– with your thoughts and physical being. It’s an important life skill to have, especially in high school when people won’t be available for you 24/7.

As it turns out, I’m not the only senior with high school regrets. Camryn Mager reflected on her four years and said that she wished she had done more activities. “The only things I ever did were volleyball, track and golf, and I quit half of those anyway. I would have done Student Council or yearbook,” she said. Mager also admitted that she regretted not taking more DMACC classes as an underclassman.

Chloe Clarke, another ADM senior, also said she wished she would have gone out for more things, like trying a sport. “I wish I was more outgoing and talked to more people outside my immediate circle,” she also stated.

I’m not one to have a lot of regrets in life, but these were certainly things I wish I had known four years ago. High school flies by faster than a freight train and you may find yourself knowing you should have done things differently. Don’t sweat the things you probably won’t remember in two weeks and cherish your time within high school walls.