High school makes up such a small percentage of people’s lives, only four of the many in a lifetime. Yet within these years, it has often felt like it is this time that defines the people we are for the rest of our lives.

While high school can be an enlightening and pivotal piece of life, it isn’t the whole world. High school doesn’t have to define who we become, and life after high school can be a chance to break away from the things that have defined us.

We have lived inside a bubble with scaffolding created by family, friends and staff at the school. They have provided knowledge and safety to aid in learning and growth, but it is now time to expand our worlds and see what life outside of the safety of high school can offer.   

Whether graduates are going to college, straight to the workforce or enlisting in a branch of the military, there are endless opportunities to meet new people, see new places and have entirely new experiences. It is important that in this next stage of life, we are committed to pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones.

So much growth happens during these four years, but it doesn’t have to stall as we move to a new era. There will always be opportunities for growth. This senior class should face those new opportunities and potential challenges head on.

Change is a terrifying prospect no matter the phase of life, and this next phase of life will present so much change, but that change can foster growth. We must be ready for that change in order to see that growth, because no growth comes from staying comfortable and avoiding things that scare us.

The lessons we learned during high school are extremely important and valuable, but the rest of life has so much more to give. There will be new faces and places, new ideas and beliefs. In our life after high school, we should strive to push ourselves and aim to see more of the world than the last four years have shown us.