What's the Big Deal?

I woke up on the morning of Tuesday, September 8th and, thought, what’s the big deal? Everyone starts high school; I have no doubt I will finish high school, what then? My life will take another turn? If life is full of twists and turns, then why is this one so special?

As I was taking my first steps into Stevenson High School, two thoughts rushed to my head. The first was a scene from one of my favorite movies, “Accepted.” In the scene, the main character is standing in the middle of a hallway at a school implied to be Harvard, and everyone around him is moving twice their normal speed, flying by faster than life. Suddenly, the second thought hit me like a freight train, before I could completely process the first; this time it was something my uncle had said to me over the summer. Something along the lines of, “The thing that separates high school from grade school is, that from the time you step in the door, the clock is ticking, every day counts toward college, and toward the rest of your life.”

I felt similar to this character, and all the while the clock was ticking, ticking down to homecomings, to prom, to college applications and everything else my inexperienced mind could think of that went along with the stereotypical high school experience. The next thing that came to my attention, was sheer fright, that all the while I had been standing there, the clock was ticking. I finally ventured off to my first class, and my first day of high school had officially begun.

Looking back now, it was foolish of me to be afraid that I had wasted only about a minute standing there, but that just goes to show how intimidating high school can be. I think the comparison to a “ticking clock” is a great one. With every stupid decision we make, no matter how big or small it may be, it takes time off of our “clocks.” Many people have advised me on the dangers of high school, and given me their take on why not to do drugs, to smoke, or have sex, but I believe my uncle’s has gotten to me the most. Although I believe he was hinting more towards getting good grades, his comment had a much greater effect on me. It made me think of how horrible it would be, to take a look back one day and think of a wrong choice I made in high school, how it had haunted me and prevented me from reaching life’s full potential. And I hope, that wherever I go, and throughout all I do here at Stevenson, in order to keep myself from making pointless, disruptive decisions, that I remember, “what the big deal is,” tick… tick…