My four years of being in high school have been the most vital to my life.

Most people tell you that high school was the worst time of their life and most of the time they’re referring to the academic work – from the SAT’s to the AP’s, to the ACT’s, to all of those many college application letters.

High school was vital to me because it’s where I grew the most as a person. I met the greatest people here. I found my passion. Before high school, I had no idea what my future would be.Most elementary school kids want to be space guys, fire guys, pizza guys…

Once you hit middle school you realize that high school pulls no punches and teachers usually build up high school as some huge obstacle due to the “hard classes,” which I’d say is an inaccurate description.

There are big workloads and difficult tests, but those aren’t the things that I look back at and remember as huge hurdles. It’s the personal battles I had that I remember and they’re not obstacles I dreaded bypassing.

I look back and I’m proud of myself.

High school is necessary for you to find yourself, grow as a person. Before high school, I talked to nobody. It was me, myself and maybe a few of the friends that I wasn’t really close with. When entering freshman year, tremendous things suddenly began to change.

My style changed, my way of thinking has shifted and my self image has certainly changed.

You learn a lot academically at this school, but classes aren’t even notable as time goes on. I have no clue what classes I took back in freshman year, but I remember what I learned and that’s really all that matters.

As I leave high school, I look back and realize that some of my fellow peers are still stuck in a rut and that’s completely fine. You could go into college as undeclared. High school may not be the area of self discovery for some, but it’s a really good start. There should never be a cutoff date to find your true passion.

Doing all that homework mumbo jumbo was the least of my worries throughout high school.

This place mainly sets you up to find yourself, find your future. I thank high school for that.

This place scooped up all these people together and bound friendships that we truly do not want to let go of.

It’s changed us whether you like it or not.