High school shouldn’t define your life

I know that I’m supposed to write an opinion about the lessons I’ve taken away from high school and the impact Mill Valley has left on me, but no matter how many times I try to write that opinion it just doesn’t feel truly genuine, rather, it feels like I’m an old man giving eighth graders a motivational speech at the end of their middle school graduation. 

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of amazing things that have happened to me as a result of trying out different clubs, meeting new people, and truly involving myself during high school, but more than anything, I think it’s important to reiterate that high school is not the end all be all in the grand scheme of things. Now, as I head off to a university that’s over 14 hours away from my home, I realize just how small my little home at Mill Valley was. 

During high school, I felt like everything I did was immeasurably important. Every assignment, every test, and every mistake felt like it could make or break me. Losing my 4.0 GPA to a B in ACT Prep my junior year left me in tears, but what I learned looking back is that those moments do not define who I am; high school will not define who I am. 

It can be easy to get caught up in day to day life at Mill Valley, a life marked by homework and quizzes, and exams and speeches, but no matter how serious everything appears to be, no one should let temporary worries prevent them from taking risks and living their life to the fullest. More than anything, people should know that high school is only a part of life, not all of life, and at the end of the day, it’s not that deep.