As the sun starts to shine and the clouds start to fade away, so does our childhood. As seniors are figuring out what path they want to take for the future, some reflect on their early high school years. Moments that felt like the end of the world are now stories that we can look back on and laugh, cry, and even feel regretful about why we did or didn’t do something. Going through the roller coaster of high school can show us that the moments when we felt like we were failing are now the memories that shaped us into who we are.
Some may think that they know exactly who they are and what they want in life, but the question is how are they actually sure they know? While none of us have a crystal ball to predict where we’re headed, we can work on being the best we can be to set ourselves up for future success. Becoming the best version of yourself comes with really acknowledging what made you who you are today. Our lived experiences shape the architecture of our characters.
Senior Jackson Bartlett shared how he feels that moments where he has felt down on himself have ultimately changed him for the better. Bartlett explained, “I’m happy with who I am and where I’m at right now, and I think everything that I did that hurt in the moment resulted in who I am right now.” Reconciling with the past brings clarity to those moments where we were unsure of ourselves and to the reasons we felt that way. Bartlett gave some closing remarks and shared some advice that he wished he had known in the past: “My message to my younger self is to stop regretting and focus on becoming the best version of yourself.”
There is no perfect formula for how one should navigate high school because everyone is different. We go through inevitable hurdles, and not everything will be smooth sailing. Our lives are changing, and it can feel scary or uncomfortable. However, this change can open many doors to places you never thought you would step into. Senior Grace Getze shared how everything she has learned in high school has made a difference in her mindset today: “I think at the end of the day, I am who I am, and you have to make mistakes and you have to learn a bunch of stuff, and I think it really shapes you.” It can be hard to understand at the moment why we decided to do something that we would never do today. But those moments now are the reason why we may choose a different approach to certain situations than we may have in the past. Getze also expressed her thoughts on why we should understand that we can’t go back in time to change anything because that’s just a part of growing up. She said, “I don’t think anyone should ever regret figuring out who they are and what works for them. I think there’s things that, if I knew the answer to them, I may have done them differently, but it’s all about the lesson of finding yourself in high school.” Steering your way back to the present and applying the lessons learned from your past is what growing up is all about. Getze shared a final message she would give her younger self: “It’ll all work out, it will be okay.”
While many may deny that school is our whole life, it’s practically true. Ever since we were young, our lives have been shaped by going to school every day and learning. Because we have been so conditioned to wake up early and sit in a classroom for 5-7 hours, this continuous cycle can distract us from recognizing what we need as people. There is so much pressure in this community, and it can be hard to avoid feeling like you need to put yourself in a box. It is important to note that we don’t know what our classmates are struggling with and what happens behind closed doors. The idea of having to be perfect all the time is too normalized. This is sad, but we need to recognize that it is not easy to get out of this mindset. It’s easy to voice how upsetting this is, but no matter what, these norms are not going to change.
Advocating for those who put pressure on themselves, or feel like they are not enough, can be especially challenging for someone to do if they struggle with those internal battles themselves. With that being said, senior Molly O’Riordan shared her personal experiences with struggles such as these: “I think being raised in this area has made me very competitive academically and has made me feel like I need to achieve the best. That kind of made it difficult in a way because it makes me a lot more hard on myself when I shouldn’t have to be, especially in the beginning of the year, earlier in sophomore and freshmen, and those years, it was just like, I’ve always been so hard on myself in that way.” O’Riordan’s driven mindset stems from the immense amount of pressure to fit into the cutthroat academic society we live in.
O’Riordan also shared how the hardships that she has endured impacted her. She said, “throughout high school, I’ve changed so drastically, and I mean, so much [stuff] has happened to me where it’s like, there’s no way I could be the same in any sense. Like, you know, so much has happened to me, and it’s been hard, and it’s fine, but like, there’s no way you can exactly be the same after four years.” Showing up each day and realizing that we have to adapt to our new versions of ourselves can sum up the reality of being a teenager. But these times do make us realize that it is okay to not be okay because it shows us what we should really be focusing on. O’Riordan stated, “I think a lot of me has changed throughout high school, and I don’t necessarily regret, like, I think it would be brave to say I regret a lot of things that happened because I don’t. I feel like it’s hard to regret things because you can always learn from them.” When asked if she has a message for her younger self, O’Riordan said, “I think she just needs to hear that it’s gonna like, you’ll figure it out. And it’s hard, and it’s going to be hard, and sometimes it’s not gonna get easier…But it just really takes time to kind of understand your nature and the way you work. And everything that feels like a mistake is always going to end up changing you in a way that you can learn from it. I wouldn’t change anything because everything that’s happened has made me who I am now. So I just think that maybe just let things pass and let things go by.”
While senior students are getting ready to throw our caps up at graduation, it’s important to hear from someone who has already experienced high school. While it may be hard to believe, Principal Pete Alvarez was once a high schooler himself, and many of us may have forgotten that. Alvarez shared, “When I graduated from high school, I think my GPA was like a 2.8, but I got a really good SAT score. I wasn’t a huge academic. I had my friends, played sports, played football, drove around on Friday nights, and got into trouble. You know good trouble, but nothing sinister.” When we think of a principal, some people may immediately think that Alvarez was at the top of his class and did no wrong. Honestly, it was surprising to hear how authentic and real his story was. It is easy to have a preconceived notion about someone you don’t know well on a personal level. Being a principal, people will think they know you because you call the shots and you are the head of everything. Alvarez is much more than that. Not being fully educated on how the college process works was a challenge for Alvarez, but he found someone who was rooting him on. “My dad passed away when I was a freshman in high school, and so my mom was a first-generation immigrant to America and really kind of didn’t understand what the college system was, but my science teacher Ms. Berkmeyer, who’s an incredible lady, convinced me that I needed to go to college.” The hardships Alvarez had to endure are tragic. Having that one teacher pushing for you is something everyone needs, and that was Ms. Berkmeyer for Alvarez.
Making time to hear about the fascinating interests our teachers were dedicated to before they came to work at our school is worthwhile. Alvarez had many routes that led to finally figuring out what he really wanted to do. He said, “I went to Saint Mary’s and I was going to do sports medicine, and for the first year I worked on cadavers and got to do really cool stuff, and for whatever reason a person at Saint Mary’s whose name was Brother Ron Isetti that convinced me that teaching U.S. history is about the coolest thing you can possibly do.” Becoming a history teacher led Alvarez to be the principal here. Without Isetti Alvarez may be down a whole different path. This shows how we don’t always know what we need to be doing after high school. People can teach us lessons that stick with us and change the narrative of what we think we want to do. But Alvarez does have something he did in high school, and it is a good message for us: “You know, I think my biggest regret about high school is not being aware of just how fleeting those four years were. I think that humans do a lot of thinking about their lives in retrospect. I think it’s important not to live in retrospect, it’s important to understand past and places and it’s important not to live in them.” You can’t move forward until you stop looking back. No real growth comes without its growing pains. When asked if he has something to say to his younger self, Alvarez said, “Do better man, just do better. There are a lot of ways you could do better. For the seniors, keep on reaching out and keep on really trying to figure out who it is you really want to be and what you really want to chase. You will find yourself in a place where it’s not about money, it’s not about fame, it’s about just finding contentment and peace and relationship that is deep and meaningful.”
Beyond the easy act of returning textbooks and computers, departing from high school comes with a weight of responsibility that some may not fully realize. But these feelings will fade, and we can look back and may wish we had lived more in the present as we were eager to leave. Whatever path you take, it is essential to remember where you came from and who supported you during your hard times. Comparing yourself to your peers is easy especially as we leave from the one place we all came from. But other people’s successes are not your failures, and everyone is going to find their place. As we are approaching graduation, we can raise a glass to the past and move forward with confidence.
