Make the Most of High School: The Last Years of Your Childhood

By Mya Miller
Lion’s Roar Staff

Freshmen, remember when your parents told you to never grow up and to enjoy your
time as a kid, well I should have listened.
The poem “Remember when we wanted to grow up” by Mitch Mullins perfectly sums up
our childhood, “Remember when you used to put your arms in your shirt and told everyone you
had no arms? You’d sleep with all of your stuffed animals so none of them got offended. You
had that one pen with six different colors, and you’d try and push all of the buttons at once.
You’d pour soda into the cap and pretend you were taking shots. And how you’d watch the
raindrops on your car window and pretend they were having a race. Remember when we were
kids, and couldn’t wait to grow up?”
Or in school do you remember when you would make rainbow-loom bracelets and give
them to your friends on the playground, or when you would sit at lunch and trade your fruit
snacks for a bag of chips? Do you remember when you were learning addition and subtraction
in math class or how to write out the date in english class? Do you remember when you faked
being sick in class and went to the nurse because you wanted to go home or when you used to
get so excited to play dodgeball in gym class?
Well I still remember all those memories from my childhood and elementary school. It
still feels like I just entered Freshman year, and now I am a Sophomore writing this, about to go
into the summer of my Junior year at Lincoln High School. So, trust me when I say, time flies
bye.
We might not have any teeth left for the tooth fairy to leave a dollar under our pillow, we
might be too old to go out and trick or treat on Halloween, we might have already found out the
truth about how Santa Claus shimmies down our chimneys, or we might have already figured
out that there is no magic bunny that leaves chocolate for us in Easter eggs, but you still have
four years left of high school so make it count.
Your last years of schooling, four years of high school, are basically the final years of
your childhood. So, make sure it is well spent before the “real world comes around”, as all of the
teachers like to say.
Make sure you make plenty of great friendships so that when you head off to the “real
world” you will still have them by your side. Make sure when you are deciding between an A on
an assignment and your mental health that you pick your mental health, because although
grades are important that one A won’t really matter in the big picture of the “real world”. Make
sure you try out as many clubs and sports as you can, because in the “real world” nothing is free
and there won’t always be time for fun. Make sure you go to as many dances and school events
as you can, because soon there won’t be any left to go to.
Don’t worry about that one bad grade, the drama going on within your grade, along with
so many other things, because all and all it will feel like such a small thing in the long run.
In the “real world” there may not be as much time for fun and games. In the “real world”
there is work, bills, taxes, stress, and no time for fun, as people like to consistently remind me.
Riley Specht, a recently graduated Lincoln High School Senior said, “Coming into high
school, I was definitely excited to start a new beginning. I think what really helped me get
through everything was playing sports year round, soccer, cross country, indoor track and field,
and outdoor track and field. I made so many new friends, and it gave me something to look
forward to everyday. My best advice would be to find an extracurricular activity that helps give
you a break from the daily school work that also keeps you on track with time management.”
Remember when your parents told you to never grow up and to enjoy your time as a kid,
well I should have listened, and Freshmen, I hope you do. Try to enjoy high school while it lasts,
because it is the last years of your childhood.