In one week, I will be a high school graduate. Clearly, it’s been a while since I’ve blogged.

Since I’ve last written, I’ve somehow made my way through the last quarter of high school – late nights, yearbook deadlines, AP grind and all – and I am closer than ever to my final days in these cramped hallways that I’ve gotten to know all too well. While I can’t say the first day of freshman year “feels just like yesterday” (because, let’s be real, 9th grade was practically an extension of middle school) it is very weird to think about how all of a sudden, the moments that were once life-or-death issues are now distant memories. As I’ve said before, I am a firm believer in the fact that high school does not have to be the best four years of one’s life, as the best is yet to come. However, high school has most certainly been a learning and growing experience.

In sociology class, I learned about the “hidden curriculum,” – the non-academic lessons, values, and ideas schools want students to learn (i.e. teamwork, sportsmanship, discipline, cooperation, conformity). While occurrences such as having to take charge in group projects (a.k.a. redoing the presentation because a partner made the entire slideshow in Helvetica with tragic clip art and the “Fire” transition) were far from enjoyable, I believe that even moments of frustration were part of the “hidden curriculum” and have given me a greater sense of myself, my personality, and how I work. (I’ve also learned that while it is sometimes easier to do everything myself, there is a fine line between being a leader and being authoritarian.)

I wouldn’t have gotten through senior year without these two!

“Anna and Darcy set sail 2k15”

Pieces of the Berlin Wall at the Newseum.

All smiles – even though the Capital building was under construction.

As I prepare to begin the next chapter of my life, every choice I make – whether it’s about joining (or not joining) an organization or club or about who I become friends with – will shape who I am and who I will become. In college, nobody will care who I was in high school, that I was a swimmer, or that I was that girl who did the yearbook – but that doesn’t mean I can’t be recognized as a person who likes to swim, exercise, be a part of a team, and be creative. Even as I have the opportunity to essentially reinvent myself, I hope to never lose sight of my strengths, my weaknesses, my personality, and my dreams.

“Romy, can I tell you the truth? I never knew that we weren’t that great in high school. I mean, we always had so much fun together… I thought high school was a blast! And until you told me that our lives weren’t good enough, I thought everything *since* high school was a blast. I think we should go back out there as ourselves, and just have fun like we always do. The hell with everyone else!” – Lisa Kudrow, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion

Here’s to the turn of the tassel.

Darcy

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