There is so much more to any high school student’s existence than fitting into the minuscule window of someone else’s perceptions and expectations, I assure you. But if I told you that a year ago, if I stated how much the world has to offer aside from finding the ideal prom date (the football team’s quarterback would likely suffice,) wearing the trendy apparel featured in Seventeen Magazine, or even befriending the “cool” individuals amongst your peers, you would never believe me.

Now, face-to-face and eye-to-eye, you have come to grips with reality. The time that you wasted catering to who everyone else wanted you to be, has taken its toll on your grand, attention-grabbing smile. Remember that? The grin that turned heads every time you ventured into a new classroom? I hate to admit it, but, of course, I know I do. It didn’t even make a difference that it was freshman year and you had wandered into that room by mistake searching for Honors American History with Buck.

As always, you never failed to find a safe-zone, a spot of neutrality with people who, despite sitting at the same table every afternoon in the “deadly” cafeteria, you wish you could call friends. Needless to say, they did not stick around to witness your evolvement sophomore year.

But today that should not be a concern. You are headed to a new state, with new people, new places, and you are given a second chance at the high school experience you wished you had. Not that it was all rejection or despair; I will be the first to tell you. But there were the times I cringe at recollecting when you would slump further and further into my seat after receiving a failing grade on a math unit test. There were incredible people and there were ones who were not so friendly. The tricky part is knowing where you belong and who is going to stay for the long run. I can’t say you have figured it out all out quite yet, but it is a step, right?

In the present, graduation has passed and you are longer an attendee of the neighborhood high school, but now you are a college-bound freshman. Good luck. If I were to say much more, I know you would simply chuckle and brush my words off. Some things really will never change.