Personally, I was never the biggest fan of high school overall, but I could definitely say that it had its moments. Despite the lows, I could still reminisce on things that I appreciated from my four years here. For many people, high school is just another step we have to take before college and moving on to the real world. Others may ignore the significance of it or completely despise it altogether.

I believe kids may not always see the importance of high school and fully appreciate it, at least not until they graduate and look back on it. There are various different aspects of the high school experience that are often overlooked or minimized. Whether you enjoyed high school, hated it, or participated in any extracurriculars, clubs, or sports, no matter how you look at it, high school is without a doubt a huge part of our lives. High school not only provides a foundation for higher education in the future but it also gives you the environment to develop your social skills and interact with and meet new people, some of whom may even become an important part of your life. High schoolers are completely different people from their freshman year to when they graduate.

During your four-year journey throughout high school, you will learn to find yourself and grow as a result of various different experiences that high school has to offer like classes, clubs, extracurriculars, and even all types of relationships. Most importantly, high school shapes you by providing you with an environment where you learn essential life skills like academics, critical thinking, and social skills. I believe that because of high school and my experiences, it gave me the opportunity to surround myself with people I know and love which helped shape me in the young adult I am today. High school helps you build up and develop a strong work ethic that will carry on throughout your whole life even after high school into college and eventually into a career that you pursue. Because of what high school exposes you to, it shapes your ideas, goals, ambitions, plans for the future, and how you shape yourself as a person.

Lastly, if you are a senior or even an upcoming one, you are going to learn to really appreciate living at home and still being in high school where you’re familiar with everyone and everything. Whether you attend college, enlist, or pursue further education or a job, you truly won’t appreciate the convenience of high school and its benefits until you’re out and on to your future career, so appreciate it while you still have it.