Chase Cofield

Before anyone starts high school, we all have big expectations and preconceived notions about it. Whether if it’s from seeing high school on television or on film or hearing about it from older siblings. What we don’t hear is high school varies from person to person and that there are plenty of good and bad moments for everyone.

For me, high school didn’t start until my sophomore year. Like every other freshman, I was holed up in the old 9th-grade center. Since I didn’t have any classes on main campus, I felt totally isolated and my first day of 10th grade felt like my first day of high school all over again. I had to deal with the shock that some of my classmates had tattoos on their arms and fully grown beards.

In that same year, I also joined the newspaper staff. I applied for newspaper back in freshman year and I always remember how anxious I was filling out the application. I felt like I didn’t have any worthwhile extracurriculars worthy to brag about at the time and I put mundane activities like walking my dog or taking the trash out. Thankfully I got accepted but little did I know how huge of a role it would have in my high school career. Without newspaper I probably wouldn’t have gotten into half the schools I applied for, have a dedicated extracurricular, or have any idea with what I want to do in life. At 14 years old this didn’t seem like a big deal to me but applying to newspaper was the best decision I have ever made in high school.

Of course, like many of my other peers, I have made many mistakes in high school and have plenty of regrets. Sometimes I wish I took more challenging classes, joined more clubs, or turned more things in on time but I’m a firm believer in the butterfly effect. If I didn’t do those things I wouldn’t be on the path that I am on today. Not trying to say I’m happy with mistakes but I don’t live with having so many regrets in life so I choose not to dwell on them.

I’m both happy, sad, and excited that this chapter of my life is coming to a close as I will miss the friends and memories that I made in these short four years but I look forward to where college and life takes me next. I’m just glad to say that I did not peak in high school and have nowhere to go but up.