Oh, the joys of high school, filled with homework, extracurricular activities, drama, sports, etc. We thought we were invincible and as soon as we got our licenses, there was a new sense of hope that freedom from our parents would someday soon arrive. When I look back at my years in high school, I am amazed at how different things were for me back then than they are now, especially now that I am in college. Something that I regret the most, however, is certain things I took for granted. If you are in high school or going to be in high school, I would really consider taking these to heart because one thing that is for certain is that these are things we can take for granted so easily in our daily lives. Here are the things I wish I did not take for granted in high school:

1. Free time

Yes, I had school and I did sports, piano, theater and so forth, but compared to college now and later in the future when I am out of college with a full-time job there will not be a lot of time for me to just relax and read a book. When I look back at high school and think about any of the times I would complain about "being so bored," I really just want to tell myself to enjoy it because even now I do not have nearly as much time as I used to to just relax and unwind from a busy day.

2. Sleep

I love sleep. In fact, supposedly women need more sleep than men because our brains are more complex, so that's my reasoning as to why I need as much sleep as I do. I had so many opportunities to sleep in high school but I still thought I wasn't getting enough sleep. I sure did not know what college would do to me! Thank goodness for coffee though, right?

3. Family

Our families can very easily be taken for granted, especially since they are the people we see the most often in our lives. In high school, there's this common tendency to think our families are "lame" and hanging out with your siblings or parents over the weekend is "lame." The older I get, however, the more I realize how much fun my family is and how appreciative I am of my parents and how much they have provided for me. When I was younger, I did not understand the appreciation I should have had for the things that my parents provided for me — things like a well-rounded education, transportation, a home, food and clothing. When you're in high school, you want to be independent but you still can't be that entirely because you're dependent on what your parents provide for you, and I cannot even imagine what life I would have lived without the love and support my family continues to give me each and every day.

4. School

That dreaded thing that pops up in the fall and sticks around for nine months is what we call school. It is that thing where people lecture us about stuff we do not want to hear about, and they force us to take tests and quizzes and memorize information till we're blue in the face. And those teachers, they were just out to ruin our lives and take away all of our free time just to simply make us work all day and night on some project that probably will not even benefit us in the future or our lives. That was a popular attitude of school for me and my peers in high school. As I grow up though, I have learned the significance of the well-rounded education I have received through high school and currently now get through college. School prepares you for life. You learn to discipline yourself and manage your time. You learn stories in history of other people's mistakes so as to not repeat them in the future, and so on. I did not see at the time that school has, to a certain extent, shaped me into a better person in certain areas.

5. The people who helped me grow as a person

This branches off of the education topic. I've come to realize now that I have learned so many wonderful virtues from the people I have met throughout my life, whether it be my friends, relatives, parents, siblings, teachers or even any person I have had brief conversations with. We are influenced by others we are close to, and I wish I could thank some of those people who may have passed or moved on with their lives for the good that they brought in my life.

6. The lessons I should have learned from my mistakes

We all make mistakes, and not just in high school, of course. I seemed to have had a tendency to just assume things would work out for the best for me if I made a mistake without having to really work for it. I saw getting out of trouble as "surviving" and not realizing what effect the consequences had on me. Unfortunately I had to have the rough realization eventually that things were not going to be handed over to me on a silver platter and that working hard is what will get you somewhere good.

7. Money cannot buy happiness

I went through a phase in high school where I became somewhat materialistic. I bought a lot of clothing and shoes thinking it would cure some of my former insecurities, but of course I always ended up unsatisfied. I thought people who were rich had it all, and my plan for me was to graduate college, get a job that makes a lot of money, marry Nick Jonas, buy a mansion and live in paradise with all the money I could have. However, this desire only made me more broken because I slowly realized no material thing of this world would ever satisfy the inner desire in my heart for pure happiness.

All in all, I had a lot of growing and maturing to go through in high school, and although I am still continuing to grow, I am glad to have realized the goodness and endless blessings I have been provided with from God in my life. My lack of gratefulness really is what caused me to take so many things for granted. Now, when I look back at high school, instead of viewing it as some compilation of awfully awkward and horrible experiences, I see it as the time in my life God helped me to find my path to growing in holiness.