I still remember the first time I actually started thinking about high school, which was two years before my first day as a freshman. I got that nervous feeling I get whenever I realize something important hasn't crossed my mind before like it should have. Back then, I had the power to reassure myself that it would be a long time until I had to face high school head-on, so I had all the time in the world to relax and still be a child. A year passed, and eighth grade was flying by quicker than I could catch up with it. Sooner than I could tell, January was just around the corner.

By then, the small, nervous ache I felt was beginning to grow as my worry started to increase with each passing day. I was just a small girl who wasn't ready to go to the same school as students who could drive, vote and almost become adults. I felt like the small fish in the big pond that I was about to call my new school. The problem was that the only "high school scenario" that I could imagine was one from a cliche movie where the freshmen had to spend every day on guard. My biased opinion against high school had no proper evidence to support it, but I couldn't bring myself to change how I felt about it. I had grown so used to thinking that high school was a place of nightmares that it was impossible for me to picture it any other way.

The summer before freshman year arrived in the blink of an eye, and I found myself at Target looking for new school supplies. How would my first day go? Can I manage the school work? What's the worst-case scenario that could happen? All that ran through my head were those thoughts along with a few others, and now I regret spending so much time thinking of what could go wrong rather than what would actually happen.

I met some upperclassmen over the summer for the first time at a workshop for school, and even today, they are some of the best people I have ever met. I became really close to three of them, and when I felt overwhelmed with schoolwork and told them about it, they'd always be there by my side. One of them was a senior, and one thing I'd tell any freshman is to never become friends with a senior because it breaks your heart when they leave for college. Making these new friends caused me move out of my usual comfort zone, but I will never regret sitting down and talking to them that first day of workshop.

I don't know why, but I don't remember much about my first day of freshman year. Maybe it just wasn't memorable enough to be remembered in full detail. Freshman year only appears as a blur for me with a few good memories because I had so much fun throughout my journey. I'll never forget my first-period class with one of the best teachers and classmates I've ever had, and I'll always remember how my math teacher helped me realize my full potential as a student. The last month of ninth grade was painful, because I'd had one of the best years of my life; seeing it all go away would feel like a slap in the face would remind me that this was all temporary.

Maybe that's a part of growing up. Nothing lasts forever, and being an adult is learning to adapt to the changes that come with moving on. I still can't believe that sophomore year has already started; I just want to take a time machine and go back to the first day of school so I can relive all of the wonderful memories. The only thing I regret is spending so much time worrying about my first year of high school because I could've spent that time thinking about how much fun it could be. Time flies by so quickly, so what I've learned more than anything else this past year and a half is to make sure that you make the most of the good times while you can.