High school is known as the best years of your life. Its the time to find yourself and find a place and something you like to do. In reality however, this can be hard for some people. We spend a good amount of our time testing the waters in various different activities. Some of us go through these four years being athletes, some are thespians, some art kids and even some journalism kids. If you're like me, you spend more than half of your time in high school, just kind of floating.
I tried a few different things my freshman year. I tried being an art kid, only to find out that I suck at art. I thought about getting into theater, only to remember that I'm too shy. I took an AV Tech class for a little bit, but felt like an outcast. My sophomore year I decided to go out on a limb and take yearbook. Getting into it at first, took a lot of time. I spent a lot of time in that class not feeling like I belong there, but something in me wanted to stick with it because I was really enjoying the work I was doing, I just didn't feel like I had anyone to go through it with.
I felt like this consistently until March of my junior year. That was when I was invited by our adviser to go on the New York trip. Going on that trip helped me open up, and get closer to these girls. We bonded as a group and on that trip was the first time that I felt like I had some friends in this group. Then over the summer we took another trip to Florida for a yearbook convention. We left for that trip on my 18th birthday and getting to spend my birthday with such an amazing group of people meant the world to me.
I have spent the last 3 years of my life with these people. We have spent countless hours in the yearbook lab together laughing, crying, stressing out, but most importantly, making memories. The majority of my time in the last three years has been spent with them and honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my time. Our final deadline in yearbook is just a few weeks away, and for a lot of us, this is it. We are all seniors so this is the final time that we are ever going to have a hand in this book and thinking about it makes me sentimental. I love these girls so much. They are some of the smartest, funniest, prettiest, most incredible girls I have ever met. I never in a million years would have thought that I would have gotten close to some of these people, but now I couldn't imagine my life without them. After we submit the last spread for this book, there's going to be a lot of emotions. I am going to miss them so much but I will never forget all of the memories that we have shared together throughout the years.
The biggest thing that I have learned from the past 3 years, is to put yourself out there. Do something you wouldn't normally do. Find something that you love doing, and don't give up on it. No matter how hard things get and no matter how alone you feel. Don't be afraid to meet new people. Go on adventures. Don't miss out on the opportunities that are presented to you. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "Do one thing that scares you every day." I promise you, if you follow this and do it, it will be the best choice you have ever made. It was for me.
Sheetal Tadiparty
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