My freshman year, I was ambitious, but naive. I valued numerical rankings, letter grades, and, most importantly, prestige. As a first-generation college student and coming from an atypical family background, I was different from most Arcadia students, but that made me want to fit in and succeed even more. It was difficult though, because I hadn’t even really figured out who I was as a person: my values, my passions, and my goals beyond a college name.

When I was a freshman, it was not only a dream but also a self-set standard that I’d go off to some elite school one day. I was consumed by this looming Arcadia culture that heralds prestige and values merit and it was an awfully toxic way to start off high school, but, luckily, I eventually found my way..

After I got my first “B” in high school taking AP Biology (oh yes, the traumatic memories!), my motto became “Perfection is overrated”. High school is all about learning from past experiences and growing from those lessons. If I gave up on trying challenging courses or activities, after tainting my perfect GPA, I wouldn’t be where I am now and I certainly would not have figured out that I do not like STEM as much as I like the humanities (goodbye Organic Chemistry requirements!).

As an underclassman it’s easy to fall into this whirlwind of college climbing and compare yourself to your peers, but I’ve learned that it’s much better to reflect on my own experiences and compare myself with my younger self. For example, two of the activities I am most passionate about now (Pow Wow and Kare 4 Kids), were never a part of my four year plan for high school and for my college applications, but they’ve blossomed into learning opportunities that have helped influence my future aspirations in life. My time at Arcadia High School isn’t defined by the grades I got, the hours I wasted trying to outperform my peers, or the moments I spent dealing with toxic friendships. It is defined by the lunches I spent chatting with my teachers, the Fridays I looked forward to volunteering with Kare 4 Kids (shameless plug), and the many boba runs I made with real friends. Trust me, I’ve attained the dream I had freshman year of one day being able to rise above everyone else and take over the pedestal of which underclassmen worship and want to imitate, and it isn’t as satisfying or fun as I thought it’d be. It’s okay to set expectations and goals, but don’t sacrifice parts of yourself by doing things you aren’t passionate about to do so. It’s a lesson that becomes more obvious as college applications roll around, but prestige means nothing when compared to how passionate you are, how real you are, and how determined you are because that is what is going to make a difference in the world someday.