Don't get me wrong, my four years of high school were some of the best of my life. I made friendships that I know will last my whole life, I had a very busy social calendar, and I made so many memories. But apart from the social aspect, high school is a huge waste of time.

This may seem a little dramatic -- I admit, it is. But there are so many things that I wish I had the opportunity to learn in high school that I did not. Students spend more time memorizing the periodic table and cramming for standardized tests than they do anything else. They lose sleep because they are up at night trying to remember that Y=MX+B for a quiz, or trying to interpret a Shakespeare play. I understand that it is crucial for high schoolers to broaden their knowledge and take basic classes such as English and math. However, there is a lack of focus on teaching essential things that we will need to know beyond our high school years.

If only high school was like college, where you actually have freedom and can make your own decisions. If you could take the classes you wanted, classes that actually interested you. In high school, you should be able to take career-based classes.That way, you wouldn't have to sit through classes that bore you and that you know you will never need (for me, that was pre-calculus, chemistry, and biology, just to name a few). Also, taking career-based classes might help more students be able to figure out what they want to study in college earlier in life. This would result in less major switches in college, fewer undeclared majors, and less overall stress for students.

You should be able to take classes that teach you how to be a functioning adult. For example, I left high school without learning so many things that I will need as an adult. It will be forever ingrained into my memory that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, but I have no idea how to balance my checkbook. I could recite the entire quadratic formula to you, but I know nothing about investing in a 401k.

High school is a constant, four-year cycle of cramming as much information into your head as you can, regurgitating it for a paper or exam, and forgetting it as soon as you submit it. What a waste!