High school has flown by faster than I could have ever imagined. The experiences I’ve had, both good and bad, have surely transformed me into the person I am today and will continue to be as I move on to my next stage in life.

Throughout these four years, I learned a lot about myself, just like everyone else. But one of the things I learned is not exclusive to myself.

We need to stop taking ourselves and the things we do so seriously and start enjoying our time while we’re still young. This is not to say that grades and other obligations do not matter, because they do. Without the effort I put in my four years at Westford Academy, I would not be able to attend my dream school.

However, my point still stands: try your best, but remember that the majority of the things you do now won’t matter a whole lot later on.                                                                                                                                                   The culture in this school is one of constant stress and concern over one’s future. To me, this was a detrimental culture, and one that sent me into a spiral of self-doubt, hopelessness, and even depression at one point.

I have come a long way from these feelings as I have progressed through my four years of high school, and that is as a result of the philosophy of lessening the pressure related to much of what is done between the walls of Westford Academy.

That one test you failed in chemistry? No one is going to remember that when the year is all said and done.

That one time you slipped in the senior lobby on a snowy day? Everyone forgot about it an hour after it happened.

The point is, we take ourselves way too seriously here. We beat ourselves up over things that feel big, but have no real consequences beyond that short period of time.

One thing my mom always told me resonated with me throughout high school, and can hopefully help students in a competitive high school such as ours: as long as you keep your nose clean and try your best, there will always be a college, job, and place for you out there.

If more people in our school kept the small implications of what happens at Westford Academy in mind, I believe our school would be a much less stressed place, and one that fosters individual efforts beyond just letter grades and test scores.

High school is a social adventure as much as it is an academic one. Take your time, try your best, do as much as you can, and meet as many people as possible. And stop taking things more seriously than necessary. Our school will become a better place because of it.