Editor’s Note: Senior goodbyes are student pieces that reflect on their past years in high school. These pieces take very different perspectives and the prompt was meant to be vague to inspire creativity. 

I could ramble on and on about how to benefit the student body when it comes to high school, but there’s one piece of advice that stands out from others, and that’s to be yourself.

Don’t let people change you.

Too many times in high school people get sucked into cliques and go out of their way to impress others. A young, wise man once said, “My lowest moments came from tryin’ too hard to impress some [people] that couldn’t care if I’m on.” Take J. Cole’s words to heart and surround yourself with people that have the same interests.

By doing this you learn who you truly are as a person. You will never gain the respect you want if all you care about is other people’s opinions. Who cares about the popularity of a group. If they aren’t like you, don’t torture yourself to try to gain their approval. Just know that high school lasts four years, so those who believe they are sitting on a throne above others will be nobodies as soon as their high school career is over.

Some students are afraid to open up as to who they really are. Why this is, I don’t know. Maybe they’re afraid they will be outcasts or considered weird. But Dr. Seuss said it best: “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”

I’ve learned it’s best to embrace what makes you unique. For instance, I’m not ashamed that I don’t know who Ed Sheeran is besides the fact that he looks like one of our substitute teachers. I’ve also for the longest time thought people were mistaking JMBLYA with the Robin Williams movie Jumanji. I also get publicly shamed for wearing flip flops constantly, but I have to to show off my toes somehow.

Sure, students will think I’m moronic for not being like them, but I couldn’t care less. When you leave high school, you will leave behind everyone you tried to impress for four years. After those four years, you will never be in high school again– you will never walk down the hallways, reconsidering what you said earlier.

Once you graduate, you will be left with some of the friends you made, the memories, and the diploma. That’s it.

Don’t focus on anything else, because if you waste your time trying to make yourself into somebody else, you will end up not realizing who you were for those four years, losing that time entirely.

If there’s anything you take away from my arrogance, it’s this: Don’t waste your time being swayed by others. Don’t toss away four years of your life because you brought more attention to others than yourself. It’s a pathetic way to spend your high school experience.

So stick to who you are, because in the end, you’ll find you’re much happier.