Dear Diary,

Here we are the same way we start every year. Wake up, get ready, first day of school picture from parents (which isn’t my favorite thing to do at 6:30 in the morning), head to school, and try finding my way through my schedule throughout the day. Except one thing is different this year. Everything that happens this year will all be the last. The first last day of school, the last homecoming dance, the last prom and so many more. But I remember sitting nervously as a little freshman at south campus not knowing who I was and where I would fit in. Each little decision I have made has shaped me into the person I am today. 

From the day I walked into arrowhead for the first time at Wings all I heard was “Cherish every moment, these 4 years will fly by and be over before you know it.” All I was thinking was they must be crazy, there’s no way 4 whole years will go fast. Looking back I wish I had done more. More than just wake up, go to school, practice, or work, and then go to bed and repeat that for 4 years straight. I wish I had branched and tried new things earlier in my high school career.

Thinking back on this, made me realize I need to live in the moment more. I am always focused on “what am I gonna do next,” or “what if this doesn’t work out the way I wanted it to.” By doing this I missed so many opportunities that could have formed me into a better person than I already am. Today I still wonder sometimes where I could have been as a person if I had joined the clubs earlier than junior year. The amount of memories and friends I have made through being on the DECA leadership team is crazy to me, but what if I started that way earlier. At the early time of high school, I was too nervous, I wanted to sit back and just go through the motions throughout the first 2 years of high school. That way I thought oh I won’t stand out in any way and I can just seem like the rest of the kids. 

As junior year approached and the talk of applying to colleges, job interviews, etc started happening I knew I needed to make a change. I couldn’t just sit back and stay as an “average” student. I wanted to stand out to the colleges and jobs I was applying for.  I knew one way to do this was by joining some clubs. One of them being DECA. At first I wasn’t so sure about it, since I wasn’t really aiming towards a degree seeking the business aspect and I was afraid of the competitions you had to do for DECA. I also joined peers4peers and was a wings mentor over the summer.