I have once again waited until the last minute to write my article. But this time it wasn’t procrastination (well, maybe a little). I’ve been putting off writing this article because I knew the second I started to write it, tears were sure to fall.

It seems crazy that I’ve been tasked with the job of fitting my entire high school experience into one article. If you were to ask me a couple years ago how I felt about school, I would immediately say how much I hated it; I hated waking up early; I hated staying up all night cramming for tests; I hated all the in class essays and DBQs we had to write. But deep down, I always knew I didn’t hate it. How could I? High school gave me so much to love; WCHS gave me the best friends I could ever ask for and taught me lessons I’m sure to carry with me to college and beyond. 

Here’s five pieces of advice I would have given to my freshman year self: 

1. Your first group of friends may not be the ones you will stay with all four years. Even your second group of friends may not be the ones you will stay with all four years. But you will find true friends and when you do, cherish them and never forget to tell them how much you love them.
2. Stop doing things just to put on your college applications. Do what you are passionate about and it will all work itself out. That being said, get involved at school- you never know where you’ll meet some of the most amazing people. Also, failing one test isn’t going to ruin your chances at your dream college. Stop beating yourself up over the one bad grade you got. 
3. Don’t feel guilty for hanging out with your friends instead of cramming for a test on a sunday night. But, take your school work and grades seriously. 
4. Thank the building service staff and custodians. You may not notice what they do but you would certainly notice if they weren’t there.
5. Become friends with people in your classes!! I can’t stress this one enough- not knowing people in some of my classes was one of the best things that ever happened to me. 

Everyone always tells you how fast high school goes by but as junior year me was sitting in my room at 2 a.m. cramming for an economics test I was surely going to fail, it didn’t seem to be going by very fast. But before I knew it, it was my turn to be the senior on senior night; it was my turn to apply to college. 

As cliche as it sounds, cherish every moment. You truly don’t know when it’ll be the last time you ever get to walk through those school doors. Stop pretending you hate all those cheesy ice-breakers and early morning walks from Tuckerman with your friends because deep down we all know there’s a part of you that loves it.

Given the current situation in the world, it would be so easy to dwell on the events we didn’t get to experience: beach week, the senior spring break trip, prom and graduation. But that wouldn’t be fair to myself or the class of 2020. From the endless sports games to going to Cabin John for lunch everyday with my friends, I wouldn’t trade my high school experiences for the world. 

It’s the smallest moments that I’ll miss the most: becoming best friends with someone who was seemingly just someone you sat next to in english class, helping your guy friends plan their homecoming proposals and screaming “Sweet Caroline” at lacrosse states. Moments like these that seemed so insignificant at the time are what I’m really going to miss most about high school. 

As I look forward to graduating (virtually) in less than a month, it would be so easy for me to say that high school is like a fairytale, everything goes great and everything always works out. But this definitely isn’t the case. You’re going to lose friends, you’re going to fail tests and there’s going to be nights you have to stay up until 2 a.m. studying. But the one thing I can say is that everything happens for a reason. Maybe you lost your first group of friends so you could find a group of friends that you fit in better with. Maybe the reason you failed that test to teach you that you shouldn’t put off studying to talk to some boy. Staying up until 2 a.m. studying will teach you things about work ethic that you can’t learn any other way. 

I am forever thankful for everyone that has been a part of my high school experience. I’ve made friends that I know will be lifelong friends and I’ve watched myself grow into someone I really admire. I’ve had teachers that I’ve eventually spent lunch periods with just talking about life. Basically what I’m trying to say is, whatever curveball high school throws at you, take it and make the best of it; it really goes by faster than you could ever imagine.