High school doesn’t matter after graduation because now you are in control of what you want to do and who you want to be. You can decide what you're going to study, who your friends are going to be, or what opportunities you are going to take.
High school teaches you reading, writing and arithmetic. Students either understand it and excel in doing so or fall behind. They say that what we do in high school will determine how the rest of our life will be and that is only true if you let it. After graduation, you still have the opportunity to excel and become the student you never were before. Once coming to college, you are a blank canvas and you can decide how it will be painted.
I was in the top 10 percent of my graduating class. I played sports all of my life and I had many friends. I thought transitioning into a big university wouldn’t be as challenging as it was because I had success in high school. I soon learned after classes started that my ACT score doesn’t matter or my volleyball record isn’t going to affect me. It won't affect me because no one cares. Nobody is going to ask you if you were the captain of the cheerleading team or if you understood every topic in pre-calculus. These events may have shaped who you are today but they are not the only thing about you. No one is going to dwell in the past because everyone is trying to move forward towards their future.
College gives you the opportunity to be the person you want to be. If you didn’t join any clubs in high school, it’s never too late. Didn’t play sports? Join an intramural team. Struggled with grades all through high school? You can develop better studying skills and hire a tutor. Want to make friends while being away from home? Talk to people on your floor, in your class, or at the dining hall. The options are endless.
College is all about finding yourself. The mistakes you make in the past do not define who you are today. Everyone deserves a chance to grow and be successful. College is the perfect time to give you this chance because of the endless opportunities that are given to everyone.
There is no doubt everyone has made their fair shares of mistakes when younger. Coming to college helps them learn from these mistakes. Therefore, don’t stress about being number one in high school. Don’t worry about the game you lost your sophomore year or the one question you got wrong in biology because it will not matter in a couple of months.
