If I’m being totally honest, I still feel like I am a freshman. You could tell me that I have four more years of high school left, and I would believe that is 100% true. As I’m finishing out my junior year, I feel like my time at DGS has flown by way too quickly, and I haven’t really been able to just stop and enjoy the high school experience as much as I’d like to have.

When going through day to day high school life, it’s easy to get caught up in the never ending assignments, the impending deadlines and just the overall stressors of being a teenager. It’s difficult to find the time to live in the moment, and actually enjoy this period of life.

As kids, we all watched shows that told us that high school was going to be the time of our lives, with parties every night, and almost no real responsibilities. This is obviously a glamorized view of high school, and while that’s a pretty unrealistic standard, it’s still possible to have a memorable time in high school.

If you really think about it, high school is the end of being kids, before becoming adults in the real world. For some, it is the last time that they will be living with their parents. Also, after graduation, you may never see people again that you used to see every day in the hallways, or in classes.

Emotions are always running high during senior year, whether that be excitement for the future, or sadness that high school is ending, but living too much in the past or future will cause you to miss out on all of the memorable moments during senior year.

I am definitely a victim of not living in the present; stress is my middle name, especially when it comes to college applications and my future. I like to plan out most of my life, scheduling myself months in advance, and keeping a daily planner to keep track of everything. Not knowing where I will be in a year and a half is kind of terrifying.

However, I’m starting to realize that it’s okay not to know everything right now. I can only do so much, and worrying too much isn’t going to help me or anyone else.

We may have lost a lot of our normal high school experience to COVID-19, but I’m ready to make up for lost time. I want to spend my senior year living day to day, and having the time of my life. No more waiting for the weekend, or for the next long break or for summer.

Obviously, it’s still important to put effort into school, and not give up on academia entirely, but I’m coming to realize that there is no use in worrying about every single assignment, or raising a 92% to a 98%.

One of the most important lessons for myself and any high schooler to learn is that it’s okay to still be a kid, and the best thing you can do for yourself senior year is to spend time doing things that make you happy.