May 9, 2012
THE BRIGHTONIAN
igh school is complicated. When I started high school, I was quiet and timid, but through all my years navigating these halls and all my high school experiences, I have grown. Now I am outspoken and strong, and I know how I got that way. I didnt become stronger because I succeeded; I became stronger every time I failed my own expectations. But through these failures, I am changing and growing every day. I expected senior year to be amazing, but it is mostly just stressful until around prom. Senior year is more work than freshman and sophomore years combined. I wish I could go back and enjoy every moment of those two years. I wish I had spent more time focusing on making myself happy, instead of trying to make everyone else happy. I never realized that I was going to be rejected. Its not that I thought I was going to get everything I ever wanted either, but when I thought about my future I didnt realize how many rejections I would have to endure before I accomplished my goals. There was a time this year in the scholarship and college application process where I felt like the rejections would never end, and that no one would appreciate my efforts from the last four years. I had to realize that all these years of hard work werent going to magically pay for college, and that scholarships didnt grow on trees the way people talked about them when I was a freshman. It was hard work, but it all paid off in the end. There was a time I had no motivation to continue trying and lling out these applications. The thing is, if I had given up because I was tired of rejections, I never would have gotten the scholarships I received. Because I persevered, I was able to achieve my goals. I think that all those rejections made my success much sweeter, and for that I am grateful for every single no. Before I learned to appreciate the bad with the good, I really struggled with realizing the difference between a life-shattering event and a minor bump in the road. In high school I had my rst relationship, lost my best friend, made better friends, and Ive come out the other side alright. Im taking the rejections, the failures, and trying to learn and grow from them. Its still a work in progress sometimes, but I know that failure and rejection are as key to the human experience, and the high school experience, as success and happiness. I learned that my character isnt shown when I get rejected; its shown when I overcome rejections. There are so many things I thought I would never get over; I thought my world was going to end time and time again, but every mistake Ive ever made has helped me grow into a person that I am proud of. Looking back, most of my tears were shed over things that really werent a big deal. I know now that life is better spent laughing and enjoying the time you have than crying over trivial struggles. Hannah Armentrout erves and excitement consume your mind and over take all the emotions left in your body; people yell and cheer as each name is individually called. People clap and rise to their feet, smiles of pride and joy adorn their faces. It seems that everyone surrounding you has been waiting for this moment for the past four years. The short four years that seem to drag by with enough drama to fuel a small musical of everyones lives. It seems that just yesterday we were all standing in the high school lobby waiting to start something new, waiting to take another step through life. High school has been one of the greatest life experiences, and I cant say that I regret anything that has happened. Along the way of high school I discovered the person that I was; its clich but true. I thought that I had myself gured out, that I wouldnt change because I was comfortable with the person that I was. Its strange how wrong you can be, how much you do change in just a short amount of time. You think that its time that changes you, but in truth it is those few people that you come across. I learned how a few people can walk through your life and impact you in such a way that you cant help but look back at the person you were and question, Why? There are moments that I look back on my past years here at Brighton High School and wish that I could erase some of the memories that have permanently impacted me and changed the person I am at heart. I wish that I could go back and change those paths that I took, the way I acted, and the way I helped things pan out. But in the end, I cant help but look at how things turned out and smile. Sure I have my insecurities and I have my moments where I want to just disappear, but who doesnt? I know that this is just high school, that things arent meant to be taken too seriously, that things arent meant to be life altering when this is just the beginning of the life that I have left to live. You always hear those people tell you to make the most of life, to live every moment to the fullest, to take advantage of every opportunity because you never know when your time will come to an end. Through this journey I know that even though there are people I wish I could erase, memories I wish I could erase, and opportunities that I wish I could go back and take, I know that I took advantage of everything that I could. I know that those people and those memories have helped make me who I am today. Im proud to say that I am not the same nave little girl that started walking these halls four years ago; Im proud to say that Im no longer that child, but a better person and a maturing adult who is starting with picking up the pieces and moving forward. Melanie Wass
4 OPINION
OPINION EDITOR: MELANIE WASS
