by Chase Sondike ‘26

Looking back at my time here at Sherwood, it has been characterized by some extremely happy times as well as times when I thought I couldn’t wait for it all to be over. As I write this, however, I look back on the past four years with acceptance. Acknowledging that it’s over, but also looking forward to what is next in college. 

Although I will definitely miss high school, I’ll still be able to enjoy the best parts during breaks in college. The thing that made high school great was the continuation of long-lasting friendships, along with many new relationships being built. As someone who didn’t do a lot of extracurriculars throughout high school, I do certainly have some regrets. But I can proudly say that I’ve built strong companionship with those that I have surrounded myself with over the last four years, and that is worth more than anything to me. 

Sometimes I do think back and wish I continued playing sports in high school, but my free time allowed me to really focus on school and ultimately get into the college I have wanted to attend ever since I can remember. With extended free time also came more opportunities to build relationships with my friends and family. I also wanted to make sure in my senior year to create good memories to last for years to come. People might look back at high school for them and regret something, but I don’t think that’s fair to being you. I say you look back at your time at high school with no wishes for anything to be different. If you did, the whole chain might fall differently, in a good way or a bad way. Better to live with the decisions that you made. Even things I wish I handled better did something for me. They taught me, changed me, or led me to something I actually needed more. The fact is, there are people I wouldn’t know, memories I wouldn’t have, and parts of myself I wouldn’t understand if things went any differently. I choose to live with that. High school didn’t go perfectly, but it went the way it needed.