Unpopular Opinion: I Didn't Hate High School

Uniforms: private school problems 

I have noticed that anytime I have a conversation with my college friends about high school, it almost always includes them spouting off the phrase, "I hated high school" or something of that sort. A large number of the students that I went to high school with say the same thing. I find it sad when I come across people with this opinion because personally, I loved high school. I loved it for what it was. I think some people expected too much from it. Don't get me wrong. I am so happy to be done. Four years is enough and college is so much better. But high school was a totally different time and I'm happy that I can look back on it and smile. 

High school is where I made life long friends, where I met my very best friend, where I could immerse myself in the game of softball every spring, where I could sit with my friends at lunch laughing about who knows what. It's where I could dress up for spirit week every October and partake in the Homecoming festivities that it led up to. It's where I had an excuse to get all dressed up and excessively plan for prom and it's festivities. It's where I planned ridiculous adventures with all my best friends for after school on Fridays and all summer long. It was the place that I sat under Friday night lights cheering and laughing with my friends and where I attended basketball games after softball conditioning and a quick stop at Tropical Smoothie. It's where I cheered for summer when the last bell rang at the end of May and where I was reunited with all my classmates again in August. It's the place that I walked the halls with my classmates saying "I can't wait to graduate" every day of senior year…but in the back of our minds we all knew we'd miss it…or at least I did. I don't miss it in the sense that I want to go back. But I miss it in the sense of appreciation. I look back on high school and really appreciate my time there. I appreciate the good times, the memories, and the moments that flood back to me making me laugh and smile all over again every time they do. 

I love college. I'm happy to have graduated and moved on from high school. But, high school, here's to you. Thanks for all the good times. Thanks for not making me someone that looks back on time there with feelings of hatred. Because those four years helped shape me into the person I am today and those years hold a lot of great memories and people that I certainly can't imagine my life without. 

My advice to those that are still in high school: don't wish it away and appreciate the "now." Actually, to anyone, appreciate the "now" wherever you're at. Don't be someone that looks back on a stage of your life and doesn't recognize the good that it contained. 

And now for the fun of it, a small fraction of high school in pictures (there's a lot more where these came from):  

This is such a minuscule amount of pictures but it's a small glimpse. As always, thanks for reading!

Xo, Emma