Over the past four years I have learned a lot but one lesson that sticks out to me is quality over quantity.With this I have realized the importance of surrounding yourself with good people.

Freshman year I wanted to be cool and be friends with everybody. I was obsessed with what people thought of me and I cared too much about other people’s opinions. I didn’t make decisions because I wanted to, I made them because other people wanted me to.

I used to have the worst FOMO (fear of missing out) but now I enjoy being alone and doing stuff for myself. I used to be the type of person that had to be doing something at all times but now having a night in all to myself sounds appealing. I would think it was embarrassing to go anywhere by myself but now I find peace in doing things alone.

High school can be a really hard time for people. There can be stress around friends, school, sports, clubs and having a social life. Everyone has a different experience but for me I loved all of it except for actually going to school. I had a great group of friends and I have met many people that I will have lifelong friendships with.

Everyone likes to say “highschool will be the best four years of your life” but I hope that’s not true. Yes there were great times but waking up early everyday, going to school for eight hours, doing sports, working, homework and keeping up with friends and family can be really draining for a child.

I was fortunate enough to find a great group of friends and have a great high school experience, but it was also very stressful trying to balance everything. There would be many weekends where I would be gone for sports and I wouldn’t be able to hang out with my friends. Balancing sports and friends is definitely hard, especially on the weekends.

My advice would be to cherish every moment you have because it goes by so fast and soon enough you will be living hours away from your friends. You don’t realize it at the moment but taking the five minute drive to your friend’s house is a gift. By senior year you really find your people. You don’t need 50 friends, just a couple real ones that will be there for you and be a true friend.