Throughout my high school career, I’ve seen a lot of things that I thought I wouldn’t, and went through things that I didn’t even know I would have to go through. Coming into my freshman year, I thought high school was going to be a piece of cake, and it was just somewhere to spend four years until the next big part of my life. But now four years later, I’m realizing there were things I wish I would’ve known before going into my freshman year.

  If I would’ve known procrastination could hit someone so hard, I would have been more organized, and prepared. Procrastination creeps in slowly, and once you least expect it, it hits you like a bus. It makes a student’s academic life so much harder. You try to balance your late assignments, on top of the new ones, and any extracurriculars, or jobs. It is very hard once you are behind to catch up. Once you are behind, you think you never will. I wish I would’ve known to get everything I am assigned done in advance, rather than to put it off to the last minute.

  I never knew just how important my grades were going to be in high school. Just like finals, I did hours of studying just to get my grades to where they are now. Even then, I wish I could’ve done better. Spending time on your homework and your important classes is crucial and I don’t think teens take it seriously enough. Your grades are important, and they always will be. It is the one thing in high school that can make you stand out from another student, and it gives your more potential for scholarship opportunity when it comes time for college.

  If any student was like me and is involved in just about anything, I was never home, and never with my family. I would get to school a little before seven in the morning for band, and some nights wouldn’t get home until around eleven, depending on my schedule for the week. Being so busy took a toll on me and the people around me, and I wish I would’ve known that. If I knew I was never going to be with my family and my friends, especially throughout senior year, I would’ve tried to make more time throughout my week.

  I had never been so stressed until I got into high school. My grades had always been important, but I knew this is when they started to become even more important. I stressed about every little thing from little quizzes to report times for band to big tests. Stress had never been a big issue until going into high school. But once it became a problem, it was full force. Without procrastination, caring so much about my grades and being so busy, I would’ve never been so busy. I wish I would’ve known to not sweat the small stuff, that life goes on, and the rest of your life can’t be determined by one small quiz.

  Throughout high school, my class has hit their highs and lows. Learning of a friend passing away just before our sophomore year was supposed to start was one of the hardest things, still to this day, that I had to go through. If I wish I would’ve known that things like this happen more now than they ever have, I think we as a class would’ve been able to cope better. Emotionally, it was the hardest thing I will ever have to go through. No one wants to go to bed one night with everything just fine, and wake up without a friend. I wish I would’ve known to treasure every last moment you get with your friends, because you don’t know what might be your last moment with them.

  My mom always told me that my friend groups would constantly change. Little did I know, she was right. My friend groups have changed every year of high school and looking back on it now, it’s honestly nothing to sweat about. People grow apart and it’s okay. Not everyone can get along 100 percent of the time, and looking back on it now, it seems normal.

  Coming into freshman year, I thought the whole world was coming down because it was a completely new thing. Being thrown into classes with people that were older really benefitted when this problem came up. Knowing upperclassmen had gone through the same issue when they were freshmen was comforting, and I made a lot more friends this way.  

  Choosing your friends carefully could never have helped me out more. Knowing that if a friend betrays you once, and that they will more than likely do it again would have been helpful. It would have saved a lot of heartache, and time to get to know my real friends.

  Through all of this, memories will be the one thing you can really take away from high school. Pictures and videos will be the only thing you can hold onto once graduation hits. You’ll be looking back on these moments for years to come. Procrastinating, your final grades, or the amount of stress you endured is never going to compare to the amount of memories you’ll make in high school with the people you love and care about. Treasure each moment as is comes and don’t wish your time away.