“No regrets” was my motto last year, and I lived by that. Now that I look back on it, I regret getting C’s and D’s in my classes. I regret lying to all the teachers when I skipped to hang out with my friends. Those people I used to skip with aren’t even my friends anymore. I’ve come to ask myself: “what was the point?” I didn’t gain anything from slacking I did in my classes, even when I did go to them.

Last year was a rough year, not only because of the situations around me, but also because I made it harder on myself. September of last year, my mom and I decided that we were going to move to another state just for the fun of it. I thought I would be gone the summer after freshman year. I started to slack off in my classes, and I didn’t care about my grades. I thought: ‘Hey I’m moving, what I do here doesn’t matter,’ and oh boy was ya girl wrong. It was wrong for me to think like that, and it got to the point that I isolated myself from the people who were trying to be there for me, just so I could hang out with the people who didn’t care that I was going to leave. In the end, I felt alone and it was horrible.

Not only did I fail Spanish, for the second time, because I skipped that period to be in the cafeteria with my friends, but I also failed World Geography. My grades were not a priority for me and I was more focused on embarrassing myself to make myself and others laugh, breaking the rules, and hanging out with my friends that I thought, I would never see again. School work was the last thing on my mind. I thought that I had nothing to lose because I wasn’t going to be returning.

Fast forward to this year, my sophomore year, where I attend all my classes. Even though I’m a little spastic, I somewhat understand what the teachers are talking about. I do my homework and turn it in complete. It’s truly a miracle. My teachers have noticed a huge difference in my work, and my journalism teacher even gives me a compliment from time-to-time. I’m no longer a hopeless student, and I care about what I’m doing and put forth effort in everything I do.

I still have plans to move to another state, but now when I move there I won’t be behind at my new school and I might even be a little risky and take Pre/Ap Algebra II, (that won’t happen). What I did was stupid my freshman year and immature, but I really thought that I was going to leave and start anew. Even though I still plan on moving, at least now I will be better equipped to make a smooth transition.

I also learned that I don’t have to leave to start anew. I can do that right here and am surrounded by people who are willing to help me be successful. My real friends helped a lot in the process and weren’t disappointed in me. They let me run my course of “No Regrets,” which helped me get past that period of rebellion, without judgement.

My advice to any freshmen or even any high schoolers who are wanting to follow what I did or are already following that path, don’t. It’s not worth it and you will regret it just like I did. Don’t read this and still do what I did just to prove a point. It’s okay to take advice and it won’t hurt your reputation to get good grades and work hard for your future. Sorry to burst anyones bubble but high school ends, life starts and it’s tedious and way longer than high school. Don’t mess up now and ruin your future kids.