Without a doubt, my favorite movie of 2018 so far has been Netflix's surprise hit "To All the Boys I've Loved Before". The story is funny and sweet, the characters are likable, and the lesson about taking a chance on love is exactly the kind of message I've always needed to hear. Lara Jean's growth from hopeless romantic to a girl who bravely takes control of her own destiny and vows to live in the real world inspires me to no end.

However, there's another Netflix original film-which doesn't get nearly enough love-that I definitely needed when I was in high school. It's another movie about taking chances even though you might get hurt in the process and opening yourself up to others. This movie is called "Candy Jar". It's about two students, Bennet and Lona, who go to the same prep school. They are on the same debate team and are constantly in competition with each other to be the best in their division. Both of them have poured their entire lives into the debate circuit and getting into their dream schools. While they're pursuing their academic dreams, they always visit their guidance counselor, Kathy, who seems to be the only person giving them advice to simply explore the world and live their lives as normal teenagers before the reality of college hits.

Neither of them can fully seem to process this advice, as they put their entire lives into achieving academic success. They convince themselves they don't have time for anything else in their lives. Neither of them has any friends, they don't go to any school dances, and neither of them makes an effort to be normal teenagers. However, when they're forced to compete in the state qualifier as a team and to deal with the unexpected death of Kathy, they, especially Lona, realize just how much they missed out on in high school. Neither of them took the time to step back from academics and simply live their lives as carefree teenagers.

As someone who went through exactly what Lona and Bennet experienced, this movie affected me deeply.

There's a moment in the movie when Bennet asks Lona if she ever spent any time to just be in high school. When all Lona could do was pause and come to the realization she never did, I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. Watching Lona was like looking back at my high school self. While I participated in occasional school activities and had a few friends, I never saw the need to be a carefree teenager every once in a while. As long as I had top grades and was getting into a good school, I had all the satisfaction I needed out of life.

However, once I got to college and stepped a little more out of my comfort zone, I realized just how much I had been missing. I don't necessarily wish I had been a stupid teenager, but I do wish I had taken some time to bask in the fact that life wasn't all about grades. I wish I had spent more time enjoying myself and not trying to plan every aspect of my life. The lessons Lona and Bennet learned would have seriously benefited me as a high school student.

Now that I'm in college, I have definitely learned the perks of having fun every once in a while and enjoying the life ahead of me, because I have enough time ahead of me to worry about a job and other responsibilities that come with being an adult. For now, I can find the perfect balance between following my heart and God's plan for me and living my life with a strict plan.

I may have never joined the debate team in high school, but I was certainly no stranger to academic perfectionism. I'm thankful that now I've realized that life is also meant to be enjoyed, and I can still live a carefree life while having goals, just like Lona Skinner and Bennet Russell.