Moments after submitting my college applications, all I could hope was that time would speed up to those mid-January weeks when decisions would roll in. And that hope paid off, because suddenly it was January, then March and I was committed to college. With the end of high school in sight, I was faced with yet another assignment: to write a Harbinger senior reflection.
Looking back, I don’t have some life-changing revelation or brilliant advice to write about. Instead, I want to give a reminder to just enjoy the little things.
Yes, the big moments are easier to mark on the calendar and put in a shared album, but those aren’t what made up most of my high school experience. What I’ll miss most are the smaller, everyday things.
I’ll miss walking my friend to bio before gym class. Pasta Wednesdays. When a teacher was out the period before a test I didn’t study for. Munchkins on days with first-period environmental (thanks Ibs). Only having one Spanish packet for homework instead of three. Sitting in the parking lot with friends after school just talking.
There were definitely days when everything felt overwhelming—homework, clubs, work, trying to keep up with friends. On those days, and admittedly most Mondays, I caught myself wishing for Friday, or the next long weekend, or graduation. But time kept moving, whether I was paying attention or not. And the more I waited for the next thing, the faster it all seemed to go.
The weekends came. The events I was looking forward to happened. But I can’t go back and slow down those in-between moments, and now that I’m leaving, I’m realizing that those were the moments that meant the most.
The time will pass anyway. Even when you want it to speed up, know it’s time you’ll never get back—and someday, you’ll want it back. Maybe not the calculus homework or English essays, but seeing your friends everyday, hanging out at Apex, persuading Dr. Smith to take you on a walk in Psych.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the in-between moments matter more than they seem. You don’t have to make every moment memorable, but noticing the little things—the too-loud hallway laughs, the cookie after a bad test—makes all the difference. That’s what I’ll take with me, and that’s what you shouldn’t let get lost in the rush of everything else.
