Make memories now, not later

“See you guys in three weeks!”

Although I didn’t know it, I spent my last moments of high school before the COVID-19 school closure in the Rampage room during late nights, surrounded by editors hurrying to finish their pages. 

    It was during these late nights at school over the past three years that I made friendships with amazing people as a staff writer, hurriedly met deadlines as the feature editor and juggled edits for different pages as the managing editor. Late nights were often stressful and chaotic, but when I was surrounded with my friends, the atmosphere felt brighter and livelier. I joined Rampage feeling scared, lonely and far out of my comfort zone, but the people I’ve met ended up being some of the best friends I could ever ask for: La Mesa and R. Buffoons. These bizarre group names capture the wild, amazing memories we’ve made throughout these three years.

With our senior year cut short, I wish that I had spent less time stressing out about school and more time having fun and enjoying the company of friends and family. I pushed myself to work hard, without leaving much room to enjoy the little moments, telling myself that I’d relax and have fun during second semester senior year. But who can say for sure that a time like that will come? I remember not going to senior sunrise because I chose to sleep in after staying up all night to study for a test, telling myself that I’d just go to senior sunset instead—which never came. I missed an opportunity to make precious memories with my friends, and I don’t even remember what the test was on.

Looking back at high school, I was pretty stressed and sleep deprived from all the classes and extracurriculars that I took on. I wanted to become the well-rounded person that I thought college admissions officers wanted, so I joined everything that caught my interest: Rampage, volleyball, Miss TC, Peer and more. People often say not to join extracurriculars just for the sake of college, and I completely agree—don’t stay in an environment that isn’t for you and makes you unhappy just so you can spice up your college application.

However, high school is the perfect time for people to explore new interests and go out of their comfort zones. Even if the desire for self-improvement and exploration comes from wanting to build an impressive resume for college admissions, it’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you find happiness and good friends. I may have not joined some programs with the right intentions and a burning passion at first, but I discovered that passion and genuine love for my extracurriculars along the way as they led me to incredible experiences and people.

Don’t wait until second semester senior year to fully relax and enjoy your high school years. Go to dances, venture off campus during lunch with your friends and participate in spirit weeks because we’ll only be high schoolers once. I probably won’t remember all the extracurriculars I joined in high school, but I’ll keep the memories that I’ve made with my friends in these groups close to my heart. We don’t know for sure what the future will hold, so cherish your time with loved ones, even in the simplest moments.