by Nick Mourtoupalas ’13

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my experience in high school, it’s that you can’t predict anything. Things actually start to make less sense as time goes on. Making assumptions will leave you with nothing but regret and confusion; part of high school is learning to grow around this fact and move forward with a fresh, resolute attitude. But isn’t that the case with everything? Discoveries are made because someone encounters the unexpected and learns from it.

Entering high school, I knew I’d make moronic decisions from the start. I wanted to leave as a wiser individual, even if there was some turbulence along the way. You learn things subconsciously and without anticipation just by waking up every morning, despite how often students say they haven’t learned anything from high school. Those who claim this are either ignorant or just liars, and they shouldn’t be allowed to say so. It’s the perpetual and merciless disorder of the everyday teenage life that makes it disorientating, painful and, therefore, illuminating.

 College students still tell me high school doesn’t matter. It’s the time in your “adult” life when you’re allowed to screw up. You’re expected to test out study methods, experiment with different social groups and see which aspects of life are most important to you, so you’ll know who you are when you need to. No freshman is the same person by the time they graduate.

So in that case, high school does matter; it’s the ideal place to mold yourself into who you should be based on your mistakes. Unfortunately, if you don’t fall in line during high school, you’ll be criticized. Grow thicker skin or conform; that’s just how it works.

This is what I’ve absorbed from high school and what I plan on taking with me. What you take in will not be the same and will cater to your values, not mine. I’m not writing this to press my life philosophy on you or tell you how many girlfriends I didn’t have. Good luck, have fun and remember that nothing makes sense.