Momma, we made it! I am about to step onto campus for the last time and head to a new environment where it is just me.  Although it feels euphoric to bask in the glory of graduating, there wasn’t always a time when I felt this milestone would ever come in my life.

My high school experience was unique, to say the least, as we migrated online during my sophomore year. Having slacked off for most of the year, I took five AP courses on top of grinding extracurriculars throughout my junior year. As a person, this simply cannot be healthy as all I wanted to do was the opposite of study.

 If you are reading this for any academic or extracurricular advice, I advise you not to listen to me. But just remember this: Whatever happens will always happen, and you can do nothing about it. 

What I can do is make you hopeful for the bright future ahead of you. Being in the position that I am in today, hopeful for the future, I can emphasize that struggling with AP courses and stressing about school will always come to an end, and beating yourself up over these minuscule details will never be the best choice.

Throughout the course of my high school career, I’ve discovered many things that would help me through tough times and relieve my stress, even empowering me to continue pushing. However, what I found most interesting is the idea of creating something original to you. 

There is no direct form of creating, whether it be playing music, drawing, or writing. It all comes down to a product that is authentic to you. Being somebody that isn’t academically driven like the rest of DBHS, seeking the academic validation that is drilled into our minds as children, seeing a finished product, created a source of motivation for myself and even excited me for the future.

You see, there are endless possibilities to what our minds can form and create. Following constant inspiration can also help motivate you to innovate something different.  It may seem like set equations and courses constrict us, but in reality, that is just the school system. So next time you are doubting your academic abilities or feeling down about your success, remember that nothing is stopping you from creating. 

Fuel your brain fluids with things you are interested in. Taking courses that are difficult and extracurriculars that help you get into a top school isn’t what is going to make you a successful and fulfilled person. Instead, take on inspirations that help you grow, ideas that allow the gears in your head to turn. 

When I step onto the podium when my name is called, it will be my last time being a child. Growing into an adult, I am ecstatic to pursue my dreams, even if it means leaving all that I have ever known behind. This attitude has gotten me through high school, and even though I was a lazy student, my mind did not stop running. Don’t restrict yourself like the classes we take do. Set your mind free and follow wherever it takes you.