1,460 Days by Morgan

1,460 Days by Morgan - April 2016 Scholarship Essay

Senior year is a one of many ends, but also one of many beginnings. It is a time that I have used to reflect on the memories I have made over the past few years, and to prepare for the changes that are ahead within the next few months leading to college. Looking back on the past four years, they have been quite the journey. I have made so many new friends and gained experiences, both good and bad, that have changed me as a person. I remember sitting in the auditorium at my middle school graduation simply imagining what high school would hold. I never imagined how it would feel to be here, four years later, realizing that those four years are about to come to their conclusion in only three short months.
I distinctly remember the speech made by my principal at that graduation ceremony. He said that high school would be four of the best years of our lives and to enjoy every single moment. He said that time will go so quickly that before you can blink, it’s over. For me, it was hard to comprehend this. I had heard it all before; teachers, parents, and even older students would tell us these same few words of advice. It became almost cliche to me. But, what my principal, friends, and family told me could not have been truer.
It feels like only yesterday I was walking through the doors of my high school for the first time, nervous and excited to start my journey. Now I have walked through those doors hundreds and hundreds of times. However quickly high school has gone, somehow it still feels like I have been here for a lifetime. I have so many memories that it almost seems impossible that only four years can hold them. Sometimes I wish I could start it all over. I wish I could go back and spend time with my friends, join more clubs, and take part in more school activities. Sometimes I wish I could go back and do it all over again because it feels like I didn’t have enough time. Now with graduation only three months away I am trying to enjoy every last minute I have in this school, making memories with the friends I have had by my side since freshman year.
If I could give younger students any piece of advice, it would be to make high school something you’ll never forget. Sitting in that middle school auditorium, I could have never imagined the next four years would go by in such an instant. When I conducted the orientation for incoming eighth graders from my middle school this year, I looked out into the audience remembering what it was like to be that wide-eyed child, that student who is going to find themselves when they walk through those high school doors like I did. I made sure to tell them that high school is something that will change their lives, and something they need to really take for all it's worth.
I want younger students to realize that high school is the last time that things will be easy, so it is important to enjoy the few years you have of simplicity, while striving to do your best in order to get into a good university. Now, four years later, I wish I could tell myself to savor every minute, to cherish each moment, and to live each day as if it is the last. High school has made such an impact on my life. Although I wish I could relive the moments, the past is in the past. Moving forward, I am going to apply what I have learned in high school to my college experience, which will hopefully ease my transition.