Knowing you’re the first kid in your family to finish high school can be overwhelming.
Reaching the end of my teenage years, never seeing classmates again, and facing adulthood is also a lot. Growing up has always been a challenge for the typical teenager. We were once set on wanting to grow up and be an adult, and yet here we are wishing we were at our prime youth again.
From late nights on the Xbox with our friends to late nights cramming in assignments from last week, school can often be a pitiful reminder that you’re a day closer to adulthood, and will soon have to deal with the grueling stress of being an adult.
School had its ups and downs for me. I got to meet friends and people that stuck with me to this day, creating friendships that have been going strong for decades now, and creating memories that will last a lifetime.
However, the downs were something that often overshadowed how I viewed school. The constant workload, the nervousness of exams, seeing people I disliked— all of these factors are why a majority of students might dislike school: and why I sometimes did.
The feeling of leaving those awful memories of school behind does feel amazing (admittedly), but also leaving the good memories behind leaves me (also admittedly) emotional. School allowed me to change who I was for the better: I improved my grades, I grew in how I socialized, and I strengthened my overall personality.
I was taught life-saving skills like the Pythagorean Theorem and the quadratic formula that I will absolutely, for sure, definitely, absolutely use constantly throughout my life.
Being the oldest sibling to finish high school in my family means I had the most experience in school, and with that, I am obligated to prove to my siblings that school was not so bad, and that they need to cherish their youth and the moments with their friends before they get older.
“School” does not have to be a bad memory at all. In fact, “school” can be a reminder of one’s youth and teenage years, and it can be a reminder of who you are and how you developed as a person.
It will be that for me, happily.
I am a senior at OHS, I am currently involved in the Panther Credit Union, 42Fifty, and Youth and Government. You can contact me at 30881537@students.sd308.org.
