I remember being told time after time that high school was going to be the best years of my life and that I should cherish every moment of it. I was told that I was ruining my golden years by not playing sports through my senior year and that I would look back and regret not going on that senior trip to Florida. As a freshman in high school, I was given advice by multiple teachers to take lots of pictures, go to every event I could, and to remember everything because these were the memories that I would look back on 20 years later. But let me be the first to tell you: High School is far from the best time of our lives. I promise you that in 20 years I will not look back and regret those friends I lost touch with, the boy who broke my heart, or that one prom I never got to go to.
Friends come and go until you meet those people who are meant to stay for the long haul. Some people are lucky, and find "their person" in kindergarten. Others have to fight through all the catty girls and high school drama to discover their forever friend later on. I didn't find my person until I walked into my very first college dorm room. Little did I know, but that curly-haired, energy filled, marching band enthusiast would become my closest friend. Looking back on my high school years, I understand now why those friendships fell to the way side. I needed to take the time to figure out who I was and make my own decisions to leave my hometown, for a college town that sat waiting with my true lifelong friends.
As for the boy who "broke my heart" and that one prom I never got to go to. I am so thankful that that first big heartbreak happened when I was still within earshot of my mom so that I could turn to her when I just didn't understand and needed nothing more than one of those hugs that only moms can give. Looking back, I am also thankful for that failed relationship because it made me realize that I had no idea what being in a relationship meant. Let's be real though, I still have no idea what I am looking for, and that is okay! After all, I am only 20 years old, and who has everything figured out at 20 anyway?
Now please don't get me wrong, I love the small town that raised me and I did gain a lot of amazing things from my high school experience. Most importantly, my small town roots and high school years gave me the confidence I needed to go away to college. Which has actually been my best adult decision yet. In college, I have found my very best friends, people who really understand me, and people who accept me for who I am. I have finally found those girls who I know will be my bridesmaids someday (way in the future), and will be the first ones I call when adult life becomes a little too much to handle. I am only half way through my college experience but I can already tell you that the memories I am making today are the ones I will remember in 10, 20, and even 50 years from now. So thank you UCM for giving me what I "missed out on" in my high school years and then some.
