As generic as it sounds, high school was the time of my life. Going to Mount Carmel Academy has been the best decision I made, and the past five years I spend there have been phenomenal. Not only did I have some fun times with friends and classmates, but also learned a great deal along the way. But, that is not why high school was the best time for me, but because I grew as a person and learner who I am. My time in high school was fun because of the friends I made, places I went, people I hung out with, and all the times I laughed. This time was life changing because of the friends I made and things I did to help me find myself.

My time in high school began earlier than most, with the eighth grade. Leaving my grammar school and starting high school early was a very thought, but I took a leap of faith and hoped that I would benefit in the end. Leaving the comfort zone of St. Dominic, my grammar school, where I had been since kindergarten was difficult, but necessary. When began the eighth grade, I was shy and very self conscious. I was beyond frightened to talk to people I did not know, and stuck to the familiar. I figured that’s how it would be for a while and that’s what I was most comfortable with. Eventually, everything changed.

Freshman year was spent similar to eighth grade, with people that I knew from grammar school and not branching out. Then in 2005 everything changed. Hurricane Katrina hit and sent me to one of the best place on earth, my transition school in Baton Rouge. Brother Martin in Baton Rouge is the one place in the world that changed me the most. This hurricane was a blessing in disguise for me because though my house was destroyed, I found myself that year. I went to school with almost all boys, and did not know any of the girls that were going there except for one. Not being in school with a bunch of girls I knew was terrifying, but I knew I had to make due. I met some of the best people and some of my best friends when I went to school there. I learned to be comfortable and love myself because I was a great and fun person. I made friends with a bunch of guys and girls that changed me forever. They taught me to love myself. This time was the hardest time in my life because of what my family and community was going through, but with the help of my friends at my transition school and my newfound self life, I made it through. Not only did my family and I make it through, we made the best of the situation and found a deeper connection to each other, God, and our community.

After I returned to Mount Carmel at the end of sophomore year, I was a different me. I was open to making friends with everyone, confident, and loved to make people laugh. I was no longer afraid to embarrass myself and able to laugh at myself, too. Sophomore and junior year were amazing and I met some of my best friends at that time. I realized how easy it was to talk to people I did not know, and to make friends with all different types of people. I found that everyone has something in common and something to talk about. I still went through some troubles in those two years, but because of the self I had found, things were way easier to handle.

Senior year, which has just ended for me today being my last day, was the best time of my life. No competition, it does and always will contain the best memories of my lifetime. I found friends that know me better than anyone, care, love, and laugh with me every day. The guys and girls that I have met at my time in high school are people that I plan to remain friends with for as long as physically possible. When you are open to loving yourself, you are open to finding true friends and letting them love you as well. Through friend troubles, family troubles, boy troubles, I made it. Family is the most important thing, always and forever. I could not have become the person I am without my family. “Friends are the family we choose,” as someone once told me. Friends are so important to have when you need a shoulder to cry on, a partner to dance with, and someone to laugh with.
Boys are something that all high school girls are somehow involved with. Whether friends, acquaintances, or boyfriends, boys are everywhere girls go. Just know that they are not the most important thing because family and friends should always come first. It is true that boys can be in that friend category, but putting a crush above a best friends is something I have learned to never do. Respecting yourself, family, and friends, the people who care about you, is the most important thing in life. Caring and loving them back is what makes life so wonderful and amazing. But to be able to enjoy life and share it with amazing people, I had to learn to love and accept myself so that I could allow others to do the same.
High school was the best time in my life. I cannot imagine myself not being there because that’s been my whole life for the past five years. But now that it has officially come to an end as of today, I realized how much I have changed. No matter how much I felt like I loved the person I was and felt I had become who I would be forever, I never stopped changing. Life is about rolling with the punches and taking every experience and making the best of it. I have become strong because I have learned from my mistakes, admitted when I was wrong, and not been afraid or against growing into a better person.