As of May 22, it has been a year since I graduated high school. I feel like this year has been the simultaneously the longest and shortest year of my life. Recently, I have been looking back at the period of my life that was high school, and I’ve had some realizations I never expected to have.

When I was graduating, I knew there would be parts of that time that I would miss and parts that I wouldn’t miss at all. However, I don’t think I fully understood what that meant. I didn’t have the perspective to really appreciate the way things were during that time, and that they would never be like that again. I had never experienced anything other than living at home with my family, so I couldn’t really prepare myself for moving three hours away because I had never done it. Now, having gained the perspective, I really appreciate the time I get to spend with my family and the time I get to spend at home. I value my relationship with my parents much more than I did when I was in high school and we just fought too often.

I’ve had new life experiences that I never would have anticipated a year ago. I’ve been places and done things with new and exciting people. I’ve had a lot of ups and just as many downs, but it has all been part of the journey. It’s crazy to think this is going to be my life for the next three years, each year changing me more than the year before. It’s hard to understand that I’m really not the same person I was a year ago. But it’s true.

My brother and a few friends graduated this year, and people have been asking me if I have any advice for them. I do, but at the same time, I don’t. Plenty of advice was given to me, but I didn’t take much of it. I intended to, and I tried to listen, but some things you just have to learn on your own. You have to make mistakes and screw up in order to learn. Me giving advice isn’t going to really help, because regardless, that process still has to happen.

Congratulations to all the new graduates, and welcome to your college years. College is fun, scary, hard and exciting all at the same time. Since advice isn’t really that useful at this stage, here’s a thought to live by, from a mentor who has told me this for years: Make the best of the worst decisions. You aren’t going to make the right decisions all the time, absolutely you won’t. So when you make that bad decision, do it in the best possible way. If you choose to attend a party and drink, don’t drive. If you choose to skip class one day, make sure your homework is turned in. Bad situations will come, but just remember to do the best you can. That’s all anyone can ask for.