Student Voice: If I only knew then

IF ONLY I KNEW THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW

By Paige Garcia, 10th Grader at Willow Canyon High School

There is a lot of advice I’d give to my younger self, and a lot of times that I wished I had someone to be giving me that advice. The things I wish I could go back and tell myself usually fall into categories of do this, don’t do that, say this, don’t say that, go to this, don’t go to that, and so on. The basic idea of this advice would be to prevent my mistakes and wrong-doings, for these mistakes caused pain, regret, and disappointment, which are naturally, things I would seek to avoid. What I had failed to see was what these mistakes really were. When I allowed myself to accept the idea that, yes, I had made a mistake, I was able to rationalize the situation. Everything that I had worked for academically was not thrown away after I received a bad grade on a test. Nobody had disowned me because I made a bad judgement call. My entire character was not shattered after I made the wrong decision. Most importantly I learned that I did not lose myself after I made a mistake. In truth, personal struggle, though it is painful to go through, is the strongest way to grow. If I had not been faced with tough decisions, I would never know how to guide myself through tough situations. Just as if I had never seen the consequences of my actions, I would have never understood how farreaching they were. High school is a place of growth. It is about finding yourself and who you are. It is a time of action and a time of change. As long as you have your personal goals, and work steadily to achieve them, do not let the idea of one small bump in the road throw you completely off course. So, in all, though I wish I could go back and prevent myself from ever struggling, or putting myself in an unwanted situation, what is more important is that I did go through them, and I did make it out as a better student, a better friend, a better citizen, and a better person. So my advice to my younger self would be to stick it out, to not be afraid of making mistakes here and there, and to use every situation as an opportunity for growth.

Fortunately, I am young, my peers are young, and our successors are young, giving us plenty of time to learn and grow. During high school we are in our most formative years in terms of our character. It is a place for us to dream of the people we want to be when we grow up, but most interestingly, it is the first time we are taking actual steps in becoming those people. Learning and growth, trustworthiness and respect, responsibility and fairness, and caring and citizenship are all an uphill battle. One in which we are all bound to make a few mistakes, fall down a couple times, and take a hit or two. Let these be things that build you up, not break you down, and with them, you can become the most strong and honest version of your successful self.