Looking back inspires advice for underclassmen

Jasmine Masalmeh, Staff Writer

It’s over. This is really it. High school ended just before it even started. I won’t dwell on what would be if COVID-19 hadn’t shut down almost our whole country, but what I will look back on is my best and worst hits of high school. Although I had two sisters who attended this very high school, nothing would prepare me for what would ensue. I was painting a canvas, emotions spilling out like the paints of my tears and passion and the masterpiece was to come; it just took patience and growth. These are two of the hardest things I believe I achieved in high school. Take a little or take a lot away from this, it’s just advice from one anxious senior to the next, hoping your high school career was just as crazy as mine.

These morsels are for those of us who struggled in our own identities in high school, myself included. Making friends is so difficult, and I applaud everyone for putting themselves out there. As someone who went through
tumultuous friendships in high school, from having a full friend group to losing them all, accept that you deserve love and compassion in the best way with people who truly understand. It might take time but good
friends are well worth the wait. Never, ever ignore your mental health. If you need to cry in the bathroom, do that. If you need to talk to someone, do that. Do/t let the judgment of others who know nothing about you get in the way of you getting help. You’re worth so much more than that.

This is a sign for everyone out there who needed one. You are going to pull through. There is nothing on
this Earth stopping you from that. You are here and you don’t even know how much that counts for. It doesn’t matter who you were in the past but who you are becoming now. Don’t let past mistakes pull you away from your dreams. Never forget that you are the stars of your own show, and you can always switch up the narrative.