Before even stepping foot in the halls of Grosse Pointe South, I remember my parents, other parents and older cousins telling me how high school is some of the best years of your life.
In the summer before freshman year, at one of the soccer captain’s practices, one of the seniors said to me, “Embrace your time here. It goes way faster than you think.” At the time I found it odd. How can the best years of your life go by so fast? However, four years later, and on the verge of graduating, I completely understand what he meant. During high school you make many great memories with your friends and teammates. Looking back on them now, they all seem like a blur.
That simple piece of advice from four years ago never felt more real than it does right now. But, what does “embracing your time” really mean? Back then, I had no idea. Now, with essentially all of my high school memories and experiences under my belt, I understand. You need to embrace every situation that you encounter.
Some are challenging, some are exciting and most do not seem to have a significant influence on your future. However, the only way to fully embrace your time is to make the most out of what you are given. This holds true for your greatest accomplishments and even for your biggest failures. Building on your successes and learning from your mistakes will allow you to grow and prepare for the future and be the best that you can be.
Joining the varsity hockey team my sophomore year was another learning experience. I have played hockey my whole life, and I thought that my three years playing for South would feel like another lifetime. Those three years quickly evaporated, and in my final game I realized that my hockey career had ticked away. It was over. Looking back, those three years of varsity hockey flew by. However, I know that the memories and friendships that I made along the way are going to last for a lifetime.
They were the best three years of my life, just like I was told they would be.
Towards the end of the hockey season and right before we entered the playoffs, I began to really think about my four years of high school. I knew that no matter how many games we won in the postseason, my hockey career and the school year were going to end. Nothing can prepare you for an upset loss to Liggett in your final game, followed by the most fun part of senior year being cut short. No more hockey was hard, but no senior spring break, no prom, no all night party and no graduation made it all even worse. I remembered what I was told four years earlier and I realized how it really rang true.
I felt compelled to have a positive impact on one of my young teammates. Thus, I told a freshman on the team the exact same thing that I was once told. I told him to embrace his time and really enjoy the ride because time really does fly by and, even more importantly, to treat every game and every moment as if it was your last. Sadly, the class of 2020 was forced to learn that experience the hard way.
Hopefully my freshman teammate understands what I meant better than I did when I was in his shoes. Unfortunately, I do not think there is a way to fully grasp these words until you are on the verge of it ending.
As I enter my next journey, I will embrace the wise advice I was told my freshman year. I can only hope that all the underclassmen reading this column will also choose to live in the moment and fully grasp their time at Grosse Pointe South because one day, very soon, their time will also be up.