Thinking back on the last four years of my life at Sherwood and trying not to sound too cliche is difficult. Like everyone warned, it’s gone by in the blink of an eye and I can’t seem to wrap my head around the fact that I’m graduating soon. I’ve grown as a person, but I’m also still very similar to the girl I was freshman year.

Like so many people, I chased academic validation, basing my worth on the only letter I’d deem acceptable to see on a report card. That pressure came from standards I placed on myself, and the mindset that I had to be perfect. Because of my high expectations, school was usually associated with stress and dread. After years of constant studying and countless hours poured into homework assignments, I can confidently say there’s a fine line between putting in effort and taking academics seriously, versus wasting time worrying about details that won’t affect the big picture of my life.

There are so many experiences to enjoy, and spending too much energy panicking over every little thing won’t make it better. Worrying about grades, the fear of failure, and how others perceive me plagued my mind constantly. The only thing that would help me break out of a never ending cycle of overthinking was the advice my family gave me. As I vented to them about all the negative thoughts flooding my brain, they’d listen and give advice that always seemed to make the situation better, especially my big brother who’d repeatedly remind me “it’s not that deep.” Sometimes all it took was for me to say what I was nervous about out loud for me to realize how silly it is to “sweat the small stuff.”