This past May, it was finally my time to walk across the stage and get handed my high school diploma.

The past four years of stress and drama, all for this little piece of paper in a fake leather folder. Sure, it was an honors diploma, but that just means an extra sticker, no different than the one everyone else got.

As the first semester of my college experience is over, I was never once asked if that little sticker was on my diploma or not. As I look back on high school, I realize just how much I missed out on because of my attitude, laziness, and fear. There is more to high school than popularity. There is more to high school than dating the sports star. There’s a lot of things I wish that I did in high school.

1. Spent more time with my parents

The number of times I have laid in my bed in college wishing that I was in my mom’s lap, her telling me that everything is okay, or that my dad was driving me somewhere, listening to my random rants and calling me “Kiddo”.

The times that I should have took off work to go to dinner with them or canceled my plans with my friends so that I could watch Wheel of Fortune with them. In college, you miss your parents more than you ever thought you could.

2. Spent more time with my family

I wish that I would have spent more afternoons with my grandparents, watching Judge Judy and eating my grandma’s delicious oatmeal raisin cookies.

I wish that I would have gone out shopping with my sister more, gone shooting with my grandpa and cousins, worked on the car with my dad and Uncles, talked more with my great aunt and her friend about Nursing and their experience becoming practitioners, and flown out to spend a week with my aunt in Arizona.

3. Spent more time with my boyfriend's family

I’ve been with my boyfriend since the sixth grade (ironically, he was one of the best tacklers in my county his senior year of football, and an amazing wrestler), so his family is my family now too.

The love his grandparents have for me, his amazing cousins who never fail to make me laugh until my abs hurt and feel at home, his hilarious aunts and uncles that always have jokes ready to go whenever needed, and his parents and brother (can’t forget his brother’s girlfriend Sarah) who have helped shape me into the person that I am today.

If it wasn’t for his mom, I don’t know if I would be pursuing a nursing degree. I wish that I saw them more than I did.

4. Gone to more sporting events

Some of my favorite memories of high school happened at football games or wrestling tournaments (which are the only things I went to because of my boyfriend/marching band). Being able to cheer on my friends and see the entire school come together was amazing.

Not to mention the after-game meals I would go to with my color guard friends at Applebee’s (half-priced apps? Yes please!). I wish I would have gone to basketball games and words cannot describe how awful I feel for not going to my boyfriend’s wrestling meets until junior year.

5. Stressed less and enjoyed more

The amount of time that I spent in pure panic because of my grades, even though I knew they would be fine, and locked myself in my room or skipped out on hanging out with friends or didn’t go to a dance class is way too much looking back.

I wish that I would’ve just let myself enjoy what I had at the time and go out and live my life. I was a good student, and I knew that, so why did I make myself miserable?

6. Gotten help sooner

Suffering from my depression and anxiety without getting help was pure torture. I wish that I would have just swallowed my pride earlier and admitted to myself that I needed help. I knew that there was nothing wrong with getting help, so why did I let myself feel like crap year after year? I would have been much happier had I gotten help sooner.

7. Stood up for myself

I now know that I deserve the life I was given and that no one can take that away from me, so why did I let myself get stepped all over like a doormat? Why did I allow people to treat me like absolute trash and tell me that I was nothing? Why did I silence my own voice and hold back what I really wanted to say?

8. Said "I love you" more

You never know when you’re going to have the last conversation with your best friend at the moment, or when you’re going to see that teacher that changed your life for the last time, or if someone isn’t going to wake up tomorrow. I wish I said “I love you” more, because you never know when it’s going to be too late.