High School will always be remembered as the “best four years of your life,” once you flip that tassel on your cap and walk across that stage on graduation day. But what makes the high school experience so unforgettable, and what else is really happening to us throughout these four years? It seems so surreal to say this, but I am currently a senior myself, coming to the end of the biggest chapter of my life thus far. With that said, as I reflect back on my time in high school I have come to realize its significance: These four years are the time in which we find ourselves, where we begin on the path toward our future.

What brings me to this realization is my own experience and growth in high school. As a freshman, I entered high school with a clean slate: who you were in middle school no longer mattered. Whether you had failing grades or you were the president of every middle school organization, it didn’t matter. Everyone was just a freshman at that point. Personally I felt that I was a successful student in middle school, but I did lack in finding what really interested me. Today, however, I confidently say I am dedicated to a life in public service and have grown, thanks to my experiences in high school.

High School offers such an endless array of opportunities to take on that it has become the place many students find their talents or potential career paths. For some students, teaching has sparked their interest, and luckily there are many resources that students have available to pursue this. FLOW mentoring, speaking with teachers for more information, or even taking a teaching prep course offered at our school can get a student started on their dream job. More specifically in St. Mary’s County, our students have access to the Forrest Career and Technology Center, which provides crucial training in career fields ranging from criminal justice and EMS to computer networking and culinary arts. There are endless career paths that high school students may look into thanks to the opportunities given to us like the Technology Center.

Some may wonder, why doesn’t this begin in middle school? Why does it seem that high school is typically the time in which students find themselves? There is no definite answer to this, but much of it has to do with maturity. The jump from 8th grade to 9th is the prime time in which teens begin to mature and become more independent. As a young adult students begin taking on many more responsibilities, ranging anywhere from a heavier courseload, getting a job, joining clubs, playing sports and much, much more. It is my belief that this array of activities available to high schoolers is what really creates the opportunity for growth. Consider sports, as an example- a key part of the high school experience. As a high school student athlete, there is much more being demanded from you than when playing recreational sports in middle school. High school sports were something you had never seen before, something that was demanding both physically and mentally. It is a big commitment to practice every day for hours, to handle issues with coaches and teammates yourself, and to still come home to a stack of homework assignments due the next day. It’s these kind of activities and challenges that so many high schoolers take on, whether it be sports, clubs, volunteer work or jobs that push students to mature and develop.

As we leave behind high school in our past and open the next chapter of our lives as everyone is so anxious to do, let us never forget the growth and change experienced in these four short years. Not only have these been the best years with some of the best friends ever, but it has also been  the start of your future. Without the dedication of our teachers, the clubs and sports available and the limitless opportunities to explore potential career paths, high school would never be as successful. As you come down to the end of your high school career, don’t let any opportunity slip away from you. High school may end one chapter, but it is only the beginning of finding who you are and what you will pursue in the future.