Almost two years after graduating high school, I look back on high school with some new found wisdom. I wish I would have done some things differently. I know that I messed my life up in some ways by not taking some matters into my own hands, but in the end, would I really want to go back to use such wisdom?

If it was September of 2012 again, I would care a little more about joining high school organizations, like student government. As a now political science major, it seems as if doing so would have been more useful. I believe I would have been able to create more positive memories by joining in with more projects and events, while also being able to add even more flavor to my future resume.

I would study more when it came to finals time. Maybe, if I had done so more then, I would be better at studying now, as I face the pains of college exam after exam. I was a decent student throughout my high school career, but I know I could have done better. I could have truly taken the time to read every single book assigned, even the ones that bored me.

I could have maybe worked harder to understand math and science concepts. I haven't really used in anything from those classes in actual life yet, but I could take pride in at least knowing the information. One day, maybe I could have used such knowledge to help my future children with their homework. I know, if they are anything like their mother, they will struggle with it also.

I would have taken control of my health sooner. I've faced mental health struggles for the past half of my life, and I only took the time to find professional health in the past six months. I was always afraid of being told that my problems were nothing or, maybe worse, that I was actually full out crazy. I feared the unknown, of what mental health care actually meant.

I now know that it is not as scary as I thought it was and that I can actually meet some professionals that can change my life even more than I ever imagined. Nobody has ever dared to say that I was overreacting or that I was completely a lost cause. Maybe everything has not gone to plan in my journey, but I know I am on the right path.

I would have spent more time with friends. I would have taken more pictures of them as they smiled and laughed, so that I could have those clear memories as I find myself far away from them. Time cannot hurt photos like it seems to have done to my mind. I would have told them every day how much they meant to me, so I know that they never questioned it.

With all of these wishes in mind though, I would decline the opportunity to restart high school. I am wiser with such knowledge and I can use it to improve my future. I do not need to go back and change my past to feel okay with who I am.