In middle school, people always tell you how great high school is. They tell you how you are going to experience so many amazing things, go on new adventures, or even get your first boyfriend. They tell you that high school may be the best four years of your life or how you’ll reach your peak. But they don’t tell about the obvious teen awkwardness that every high schooler feels at some point. I had all of these super high expectations when I walked into the doors of New Trier High School my first day of freshman year, and honestly, I should have known better. I still had braces, I didn’t know how to successfully do my hair, and I was probably wearing some type of blue eye shadow. I thought I would walk into high school and immanently be “a cool teen”, but I realized soon that fairly odd parents only existed in Timmy Turner’s world. Although high school never lived up to the high expectations I originally expected it to be, I learned a lot throughout my four years and I wouldn’t change a thing.

I’m a sophomore in college, so I’ve been out of high school for quite some time. Even though I may not be in high school anymore, it wasn’t until I was settled in college that I actually realized the importance of high school, besides all that academic stuff, c’mon there’s more to high school than research essays and biology tests. Each year of high school, I grew as a person, and each year was just as important as the previous one.

High school taught me that it’s okay to experiment with fashion trends. If Regina George is wearing pink on Wednesday, but you feel as though it’s more light blue day, go for it. Oh and speaking of Regina, Mean Girls is actually based off my high school. Which brings me to another thing that high school has taught me, telling people that mean girls is based on your high school really sparks a conversation. Another thing I learned in high school is that it may take a while to find true friends, but it will happen, I promise. Some friendships will cut loose and others will simply fade away, but you will end up with an amazing group of friends. Friends that accept the fact that you cried at almost every "One Tree Hill" episode, friends that agree to go to the mall with you every weekend, and friends that let you vent about stupid topics, as stupid as some Facebook video you saw, for hours and hours. High school taught me to be proud of my accomplishments, like getting a 100% on a paper, and accept my flaws, like being too emotional.

I learned how to go from a shy and timid fifteen-year-old to a confidant and loud eighteen-year-old. I learned how to go from being a baby ducking, constantly following a crowed, to a leader. And I learned that despite those awkward teenage moments, like getting corn on the cob stuck in your braces, tripping while going UP the stairwell (like what?), and glaring at your parents as they take HUNDREDS of pictures of you and your date before your first high school dance, in the long run, high school is such an important part of growing up. High school brought me out of my shell and taught me more than I could ever know. I wouldn’t want to change one thing about my high school experience, not even the tacky blue eye shadow, because with each embarrassing story came a life lesson that has made me the person I am today.