Throughout high school, I learned a lot of valuable lessons and made many memories with my friends. The hardest part of graduating is the idea of never seeing some of my friends again, as we move for college and prepare for adulthood, it’s gonna strain us away from each other. I have made many new friends over the years in high school, making many unforgettable memories with them every single time we hang out. One thing I learned about myself throughout my time in high school is to spend as much time as you can with your friends while making time with your family as well. My friends helped me find a way to enjoy school, they encourage me to be a better person each day, and most importantly, we would do anything for each other in a heartbeat. These bonds that were built will never be broken and never forgotten, even if we move apart from each other, we will always have the same connection we have now.
Senior year was the roughest year for me as I fell victim to what we call senioritis; my attendance was really poor, but I managed to keep my grades up and do my work at home. The most important thing to me was to never fall too far behind to the point where you can’t fix your grades. I also regret not having good attendance because every day I miss is a day lost being with my friends. Since the time is coming to an end, I wish I had not missed so much school, as I missed many opportunities to be with my friends, and even just being at school with people I’ll never see again. The memories I have just from senior year are amazing, as we had our Senior spring break in Punta Cana, and that trip is, safe to say, the best experience I’ve ever had. Being with all my friends in a foreign country, making the most of the time we had there, was the best moment of my senior year.
During my Freshman year, I was not happy with myself as I was not in shape at all, and I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror, comparing myself to others every day. Although this sounds negative, it pushed me so much more to better myself. People say comparing yourself to others is a bad thing, but I believe it led me to the point where I finally found myself being able to look into a mirror and not be disgusted. I saw the things in other people that I wanted to achieve, which made me work harder on myself. During this time, I would watch social media gym influencers, and by watching them, they showed me how to achieve some of the goals I wanted. These influencers started my dedication to the gym. When I first stepped foot into the gym, it was scary and uncomfortable due to the comparisons I made in my head. Though as time went on and I kept working out, the gym felt to me like a second home. Even now, as I have been going for almost 3 years, I can’t imagine my life without all the countless hours I spend at the gym. The gym gave me a place I could go to just work on myself and see improvements every day, which at the beginning were hard to notice, but just enough to keep me going. To this day, the gym is still a safe place for me to go when I’m having a rough day or even just bored. I have forced myself to go to the gym as much as possible, even on the days I was sick. This was because I knew at the end of the day, I was making myself better daily.
I could say a million things about my high school baseball experience, as it is sadly coming to an end, and I’ll never play an inning of high school baseball again. I cherish every moment I have on the Baseball field, as it was my saving grace growing up. When I was a kid, I would always want to be playing catch, hitting, and just watching baseball, but as time went on and I got older, I lost the love I had for the sport, realizing I was not as good as the other kids. This killed my confidence and my idea of playing college baseball, and when I lost the passion to play, it kind of felt like a job. As I gave up on working hard on my own, and only showed up for the practices and games. Even though I lost the passion I once had for this sport, I never thought the day would come when it would be over. This was because I always had next year, or I have summer travel baseball, but this time it is just over, as I won’t play summer baseball due to a lack of love for the sport. I could not thank my coaches enough as they were the main reason why I still played this year, because at first I thought last year was it for me. This sport brought me great memories, many friends, and most importantly, the mental strength I have grown from the sport. Although the drive I once had for the sport is lost, I still go out and have fun with my teammates every day and try to make what’s left of my Baseball career.
As the year comes to an end, I had to decide whether to go to college or to stay home and work. Through the constant thought of what my future will look like, committing to GVSU was the best choice I had to reach my goals in my future. I was lucky enough to be able to dorm with my best friend since elementary school, which will make the experience so much better. The decision was hard to make due to moving away from my family and being on my own. My mom played a major role in my decision to go to college. I cannot wait for the journey ahead of me as a GVSU Laker.
Make sure to cherish every moment you have during your high school years, as they fly by without even realizing it. One major lesson I learned throughout my high school career was to enjoy the time you have here before it’s over, because the regrets start to flow as it comes to an end. Another lesson I would say I learned was to always put yourself first, meaning do what’s best for you. Thank you, Class of 2025, for the great memories, and as always, go Warriors.
