Whether you realize it or not, you are in fact changing throughout your lifetime both physically and mentally. However, the after high school change has to be one of the most substantial changes you go through during your lifetime for a multitude of reasons.

As for me, I was a cheerleader in high school. My high school was very centered on sports, therefore if you were an athlete of any type you were held to a higher standard than other people. I know being a cheerleader does not seem like a "sport", yeah yeah whatever, I have heard it all my life. Quite frankly, I do not care what your opinion on that matter is, my point is that cheerleading is what consumed my time all throughout high school and I was required to act and behave a certain way because that is who I was subjected to be.

I was subjected to a cheerleader. A preppy, smiling, fit, outgoing, lady-like person who 'never did anything wrong'. It was like I was on a radar. Everybody was watching me, people throughout the school, my cheer friend's parents, my coaches, everybody.

And in my mind, I was 'supposed' to be this way, so I never knew how to be my own person.

I graduated high school in the class of 2015, so it has been exactly a year since I graduated and though it took some time and trial and errors, I can honestly say I have finally become my own person.

My after high school change was probably a lot more dramatic than most, because I was not allowed to go through these phases in high school because I would have gotten in trouble. As soon as cheerleading was over, I got my belly button and my nose pierced because I could finally get a new piercing without having to take it out. I got four tattoos, because if you wanted to be a cheerleader then you were not allowed to have a tattoo. I started dressing different because the 'preppy' look was never really me in the first place. I became less angry and learned to appreciate the little things more like reading, writing, coloring, painting, walks in nature, and listening to music. I finally had time to experiment and find out who I was supposed to be.

And no, this does not mean I am looking down upon how athletes are supposed to be viewed at a higher standard than most students, because I definitely agree with that. It just showed me the importance of what being your own person really can do to you, because with these restrictions I was not allowed to be anyone but a cheerleader.

Now, when I tell people that I was a cheerleader in high school they give me the weirdest look because I do not look like one at all anymore.

To people on the outside looking in, it probably looks to them that I have gotten "weird" or "nothing but trouble", but it is only because I went through such a drastic change in such a short period of time. When I was in high school and the athletes in grades ahead of me went on to college I honestly thought some of them were "weird" too, but now I completely understand. They were not weird at all, they were just finally becoming the person they were supposed to be, but couldn't for the past four years.

The after high school change in my eyes is the most important change because it finally lets you be who you are meant to be without all that high school pressure around you. You are finally "free" and your life gets flipped upside down but in a way that allows you to figure it out as your own person.

To the students still in high school that may not be following me on this, you will understand one day. And to the adults that have criticized me or my parents because of their 'lack of parenting' or whatever you people are saying these days, they had nothing to do with it. I am a 19 year old woman who is in college at a university away from home. I am grown enough to make my own decisions and I can do as I please because my parents no longer have a legal decision on what I decide to do. Yes, they might give their opinion on if something is wrong or not a good idea and I listen to what they have to say, but in the end I am a legal adult. Not to mention, I think my parents have done a great job with me.

Last but not least, to those of you who seem worried about me at all, don't be. I am the happiest I have been in years people. No, I do not talk all the time, because that is not me. I am a quiet person who never really has much to say, but when I do I promise it's either funny or important. I am finally allowed to be the person that I was supposed to be, but it just got put on hold for a little bit longer than most people.

I'm thankful for those four years of higher standards because it gave me a lot of morals that I would not have learned otherwise, however, I can not be more happy that they are over because I am finally happy and free to be me, my OWN person.