I cannot believe I am done with high school. Time flies when you are having fun is what they always say, and it really is true. I don’t even know where to begin when looking back on my four years. It has been filled with lots of deep talks, ice cream runs, summer days spent by the pool, laughing at our dumb jokes, car rides with the music blaring, Friday night football games, sleepovers and negativity. That’s not what you probably expected me to say, but it is true.

Although there are so many good things high school has to offer, there is a lot of negativity. You cannot let this define you because what you do with that negativity really says something about your character. High school is full of people who love to complain, and I can say I am a victim of this too. In my life, I try to always be positive because no one likes hanging around people who are negative all of the time.

Freshman year, I sat at home many times while my friends were out having fun because softball consumed my summer. I could’ve easily laid in bed thinking about how my friends hung out and I didn’t have an invite, but I used that as an opportunity to have alone time and decide what the most important things were in my life.

I am all for making memories and enjoying life, but if you find people around you constantly complaining about their grades, having to hang out with their family, how bad the teachers are, going to work, playing sports, being tired or just simply being lazy and not wanting to do anything, then it makes it hard to be positive. You have two options: feed into the negativity or let others continue to complain while you stay focused on what you want. Many times it is hard to do what is best for you because people just want to please everyone around them.

So, I just want to tell everyone that high school is full of a lot of negativity and it can be easy to lose yourself in it all. You need to remember your thoughts are the only thoughts that truly matter, so you might as well be happy and positive. Wouldn’t you rather make the most of high school by being happy and positive, laughing so hard your stomach hurts than to mope around the halls and complain every day? Nobody likes negative nellies.