I started this senior reflection thinking I’d come up with something profound about how high school helped me grow, but realized not much about me has changed at all. I’m still a STEM-phobic humanities enthusiast. I still have a cynical attitude toward most things. And (quite unfortunately) I’m still atrocious at time management.

In elementary and middle school they tell you constantly that in high school it’s gonna be completely different, in high school everything will change…” And yeah. It was. Increasing disconnection from your peers, coupled with the ‘joys’ of being a teenager, outlandishly expensive AP tests, amidst a crazy workload– oh God, the workload– I wouldn’t have been surprised if I started balding in junior year. 

Thankfully, the worst has come to pass. And now I’m graduating, baggy maroon graduation gown and all. Pretty crazy that my peers and I have come so far.

I suppose my number one regret was not investing more time into my interests. I kept telling myself “Oh, there’s a lot of homework due soon, I can work on this drawing in a month” or “Better not try this new thing, it’ll take up too much time.” And now I think that exploring my interests would have done more for my personal growth than that extra time poring over textbooks and reviewing videos.

Unfortunately, I was sucked into the Arghhh-Must-Be-Stellar-Academically hole early on. I opted for the AP version of every subject I took, thinking it would be great on my college resume. Pretty typical for a lot of Arcadia High School students, honestly. But these classes take up time and money that would have been better invested somewhere else.

On the other hand, high school did give me some valuable experiences! For one, it cemented my love of history, which will be my major at UCSB. I went out of my comfort zone by trying out for and getting into the girls’ water polo and swim teams. I played in the school orchestra and had amazing fun on our trip to Orlando, Florida. And I’ve made many lovely friends.

I’m looking forward to the future. I’m excited to broaden my horizons at a new campus, talk to new people, and become the adult I want to be. My experience at AHS wasn’t perfect, but perfection doesn’t matter. I got through it, there’s no need to linger, the future is bright. 

See you all on the other side.