I remember being tiny and terrified to start my high school years. Little 14-year-old me, with wicked black eyeliner and an all-Hollister outfit, brand new for my first day. I was beyond excited to be at the high school with all the older kids. I couldn’t wait to go to all the football game and dances. I thought high school would be the time of my life, and while I did make some amazing memories and friendships, I was sadly disappointed.
Freshman year went by in no time. I was able to take different classes that I never could before, which I thought was the coolest. I made lifelong friends that I carried with me through the rest of my high school years. I went to some football and basketball games and sat at the back, like all freshmen had to. I played a sport and spent a lot of my time trying to get involved in my new school. I wish freshman year would’ve lasted a lot longer than it did.
Sophomore year was a different story. People started to change. Some of my friends wanted to experience more than just football and homecoming. As kids started to get their driver’s licenses, they had more freedom. They could drive to wherever they wanted and just tell their parents they were staying the night. Drinking seemed to come because they got bored of life without an influence. 16-year-old kids at house parties, getting black-out drunk because they thought that was the key to having fun. I lost a few friends this year.
Junior year. I went to almost every game. I was involved in my school and my classes. I went to homecoming with friends, but I almost lost my best friends this year. They wanted to try new things and to ‘get the full high school experience.’ I’m all for trying new things, but drinking myself to the point of vomiting is not the high school experience to me. So, I got left out. Most weekends, I spent at home. Halloween, while my best friends were at a party, I hung out with my dad.
Senior year: the conclusion of it all. I stayed true to everything I had through the past three years. I was involved in all things school; classes, clubs, athletics. I was focused on my future and getting into college, while everyone else seemed to be blowing it off. You heard people say, “My classes are a joke,” or “I skipped them all.” My weekends were spent with the ones who meant the most to me: the ones who I wouldn’t get to see everyday when I left for college. I didn’t drink every weekend. I didn’t do drugs. I didn’t party. I graduated high school without the ‘experience’ that everyone seemed to want and it was the best thing I’ve ever done.
As a now freshman, almost sophomore, in college, I still continue to stay true to myself. I watch as my friends at other colleges in different states and cities go to frat parties and drink. I don’t judge them or think less of them because of it. It’s part of their ‘college experience,’ as they say.
I think the problem is the way we define experience. My experience in high school and college was immensely different than my best friends, no matter how similar we were. To me, experience is more than blurry memories that I only half remember. Experiences is being able to tell people I did this or that and it was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done.
If your experience is frat parties and crazy spring break trips, then experience the heck out of those. Just be sure to remember them. Make sure you’re able to tell your friends and your family stories. Look back and smile at how awesome your trip was or at how much fun you had dancing with your friends at that party.
College has taught me thus far, that I want to be anything but boring. I want to experience and try new things. I want people to be able to remember everything I’ve done. For me, alcohol is not necessary, and it never has been, and I’m grateful that I had the will to choose myself over the ‘high school experience.’
