By Marie Moeller ’15

After several drafts, I finally decided that the easiest way to express my thoughts towards high school is through a list of 40 things I learned. So, I learned 1. what veganism means, 2. I would rather have two close friends than a friend group, 3. Durkheim’s theory of isolation, 3. sleep deprivation is the norm, 4. a B will not kill me, 5. how to fake a smile around people I don’t like, 6. how to apply the therapies from AP Psychology, 7. communication is key, 8. how to drive a car, 9. friends are allies, 10. pints of ice cream were made to be split, 11. I want to explore the world 12. National Honor Society is a joke, 13. nice is different than good, 14. the fundamental theorem of calculus (parts one and two), 15.  writing is a form of release, 16. you can’t always go to your dream college, 17. what it feels like to be betrayed, 18. naps are not just for old men, 19. I aspire to be bohemian, 20. not to expect much of the future, 21. your friends will not always be there for you, 22. my intelligence cannot and should not be identified by a test score, 23. how to operate behind the scenes, 24. I’m a feminist, 25. the best way to learn is through experience, 26. pineapple’s mean “you are perfect,” 27. New Year’s is a pointless holiday, 28. that I let people walk all over me, 29. labels were made for conformity and self-acceptance, 30. I’m an introvert, 31. I have no tolerance for superficial people, 32. labels were made for conformity and self-acceptance, 33. you can maintain long distance friendships, 34. drinking coffee at 10 pm will keep me awake until 3 am, 35. no one prepares you for when the reality of graduation hits, 36. people make naïve promises because we want to live in the moment, 37. summer brings life, 38. people will lie, 39. these people will not change, and 40. everything changes.