It’s the end of high school and the last bit of our childhood. Some of us are already adults, grown up and ready to take on the world… or so we think. 

One of my favorite descriptions of what childhood represents came from my mom. She described it as going from a puddle, to a small pond, to a lake and finally to the ocean. Surviving in a pond (middle school) doesn’t ensure your success in a lake (high school). With each step of the way we grow our boundaries and perception of how big our world really is. I took that description to heart and followed her advice, keeping things in perspective. 

Keeping a low test grade or embarrassing moment in perspective wasn’t too hard, and I think I’ve somewhat mastered doing so by now. But the one thing I failed to keep in perspective was time. What makes time so valuable is knowing that, no matter what, we have a limited amount of it (believe it or not, the one thing I can confidently say I learned from Econ). And that’s what makes our high school experience and life in general so precious.  

It’s hard not to waste time as a teen, especially with so many distractions. Throughout high school I’ve definitely wasted time: whether it be on Netflix (although some shows were must-watches), doing something I don’t enjoy (like writing an essay on the significance of the green light in “The Great Gatsby”) or just daydreaming about meeting Tom Brady (don’t really regret this one though). 

One thing that may seem like a waste of time is trying new things, but doing so is necessary to find what you enjoy. Although you may not like these moments and think that they’re a waste of time, they’re necessary to find what you enjoy. By trying A LOT of new things in high school, I finally found some purpose or hidden talents I wasn’t aware of. Who thought I would like journalism? Not me or my family. 

Going into an ocean of a world, my advice to you is to enjoy what you have at the moment. Take full advantage of the opportunities presented to you and don’t live with any regrets. Even if it means joining a rec basketball team without a proper jump shot or not studying for an APUSH test to go watch the “Avengers: Endgame” premier on a Thursday night (it was so worth it). 

Thanks for the good and the bad Algonquin. I’ll see you in 10 years at our high school reunion driving a Maserati.