From a Freshman to a Senior, Back to a Freshman

    Through the past four years, I have learned and experienced many different things. From learning to even come to school again after a global pandemic, to finally saying goodbye to the place I’ve developed familiarity and pull towards, it’s strange realizing how fast the years have flown by.

    The past week I found myself looking at all the familiar sights and trying to take it all in before I leave. Walking down the hallways I once mindlessly wandered, I took a trip down memory lane. Even looking at the locker that I had opened once was nostalgic. As I reflect back on my time at Troy High, the building and the people within have taught me lessons even beyond academics.

    Nevertheless, to get all of the shallow stuff out of the way, I have learned several lessons on the importance of learning and studying effectively. Having coasted through my elementary and middle school years, high school was an entirely new experience for me. Reading the Zumdahl Chemistry Textbook (AP Edition) was a transformative experience. It was the first class I found myself not being able to go into tests raw. The textbook and the problems that were littered in annoyingly minuscule font throughout its pages challenged me and pushed me to a place I had never gone before. It was one of the first times I saw my hard work pay off, with my grades in the class seemingly having a correlation with the amount of time put into studying.

    But one of the most important lessons I’ve learned, applicable beyond the limited scope of schooling, is leaving a part of you behind that people will remember you for. In other words, creating a lasting legacy. I believe this extends beyond relationships in high school and should be extrapolated to a person’s life. It is important to be kind and caring towards everyone, so that they have fond memories of you to cherish. I realize now that I won’t see many of my friends, potentially ever again. They’ll just be a picture I see on LinkedIn every once in a while or an Instagram mutual. High school truly is the time where the greatest memories are made. It’s the time where you look back with the most nostalgia, wishing you could go back. It’s the time with the most amount of social awareness and the least amount of responsibilities. High school should be a period of growth and learning, and it should be a time where you grow with your peers. For most, it is the last period of time where you will have a small, tight-knit community.

    Another lesson I’ve learned was to challenge myself. I involved myself in activities that sometimes made me uncomfortable, but nevertheless helped me improve as a student and person. For example, I learned to be open to new ideas. I found that it’s important to be open-minded and consider the opinions of others, even if you vehemently disagree. Differing opinions are meant to bridge gaps and blot out awkward silence, not break relationships and push people away. I’ve made a lot of acquaintances and friendships through discussion, whether it be things as trivial as rumors or topics that actually required some level of intellectual thought. Uncomfortable situations aren’t always harmful. They help establish growth and revolution within people.

    Even at home, I’ve learned many important things during my high school years. My mother has taught me many crucial things. First and foremost, she has taught me to work hard without putting so much worry into results. As I began to care about my grades in high school, my mother was the one who taught me to simply work hard while eliminating any stress. A great woman, she passed down the knowledge she gleaned from her experiences in schooling to me, advising me that my effort was the only measurement of my success. Even during the stressful college application season, she assured me that where I ended up had no meaning. It was the work I would partake in at the school that accepted me that mattered.

    As I am set to walk my final steps throughout the school, it’s a strange feeling seeing the finish line. Naturally, I feel emotional and a bit sad that the life I had grown accustomed to is coming to an end. But I am equally as excited for this transitional period in my life. Although I don’t know what the next four years (and more) are set to hold for me, I am going into them with my lessons learned from the past, expectant to learn many more in the future.