At one point or another almost every high schooler finds themselves wishing that high school was over. They get tired of the petty drama and the constant struggle of trying to fit in. But in the midst of all of this, at one point or the other, someone who has already been through it all the years before you reminds you to not wish it away. They tell you to cherish the Friday night football games and the friends you've had since elementary school. You'll get scolded if you miss a game or don't go to the dances, and you're weird if don't do everything you possibly can to "fit in" or "be popular." They'll tell you that you're going to miss it more than anything.

But I'm throwing all of that out the window.

If you don't enjoy high school, you don't have to pretend to. You don't have to go to football games on Friday nights, and you most definitely don't have to spend ridiculous amounts of money to look perfect for the dance. You don't have to deal with the petty drama or attempt to conquer the struggle to fit in, and you don't have to listen to the people that are telling you to not wish it away.

It doesn't matter who your friends are or how you spent your Friday nights. It doesn't matter what you did or what you wore. It doesn't matter how popular you were or weren't because after high school, no one cares. You won't walk into the rest of life with people asking you about how good your high school was at sports, or how big of a friend group you had. You won't wear your letter jacket anymore, and you won't be voting for anyone for homecoming queen.

But high school still does matter.

High school matters because within those four years you find yourself. You learn how to distinguish the good friends from the bad friends. You learn how to be independent and take responsibility for your actions. You learn that it's perfectly fine to not please everyone or fit in. You discover your strengths, weaknesses, morals, and values. You learn to not depend on others for your happiness, and to not care what other people think. You learn about life, you learn about love, and you learn about yourself. High school isn't valuable because of who you were within those four years, high school is valuable because of who you become within those four years.

There are beginnings and endings all throughout life, and just like everything else, high school will come to an end. It's okay to wish high school away, just don't wish life away. Don't forget to still find joy in every moment that you possibly can. Be kind, have fun, and grow. Find yourself, but don't lose yourself. Most importantly, don't forget that there's much more to life than just the four years that high school has to offer.