Being a senior and close to graduating, I’ve been thinking a lot about high school and what it really meant to me. I know I will never be able to relive it, and that honestly is sort of bittersweet. High school was not just a school in which I took classes, it was where I grew a lot as a person, met so many different kinds of people and discovered so much about life.
One of the best things about high school was the teachers. They weren’t just there to give us homework and tests. There were some who truly cared about us and helped us more than we realized at the time. They believed in me when I didn’t always believe in myself, and that means so much to me even to this day. Those teachers not only instructed me on facts, but they also instructed me on how to work hard, be patient, and persevere.
I also got exposed to a lot of different people. I was part of different cliques over the years, from athletes to artists, from quieter groups to louder ones. With so many various kinds of people around me, I was able to find out that everyone has their own life and story, and that’s what makes high school so exciting. I learned how to connect with all sorts of people and the importance of keeping an open mind. There were definitely some wonderful times like hanging out with friends, occasional school events and just fitting in — those are the things I will always remember.
Marissa Madden, a senior at Huntington Beach High School (HBHS), reflects on her most memorable parts of high school as well. “The people for sure. I met so many different types of people and made different kinds of friends who I genuinely care about, and… teachers as well.”
Holly Weinrich, another senior at HBHS said, “For me, it was the ups and downs that I had to deal with these past years, all the good and the bad moments for me shaped… who I am as a person and, I’m so grateful for that to this day.”
But high school wasn’t always easy, there were difficult days when things didn’t go my way. I messed up sometimes and had some rough experiences, but I learned so much from those experiences. They made me stronger and helped me learn more about myself. High school was important because it helped me learn who I am. I got to try new things, meet new people, and find out what I was interested in, and ultimately, it was a place where I started to find myself.
Graduation is just around the corner, and I’m excited for the future. But I’m also grateful for everything that high school offered. The teachers who believed in me and pushed me to be more than who I was before, the friends who stood up for me, and what I learned, those are what truly matter. High school was not just a few years, it was a page in my book that I’ll never forget.
