On a hot summer day in August, I stood at the flagpole and walked into Brookfield Central for the first time. Just like many other freshmen, I was dazed, confused, and only a little bit excited to enter the institution I’d call my second home for the next four years. As a senior, I usually don’t feel much as I pull into the lot in the morning. But sometimes, standing at the flagpole waiting for cars to pass, I am reminded of how far I have come from being a timid freshman.

High school is, universally, such a transformative experience, and I am happy to say that my time at BC has been largely a positive one. But if I could go back in time and change anything, there are absolutely some things I wish I had known not only about high school but myself. The following list is an attempt at encapsulating some key realizations over the past four years.

• Do things that scare you.

Often, we are held back by a fear of failure. We gravitate away from novel, uncomfortable situations to satisfy a false sense of security. It is a natural human instinct to fear change and risk–but all throughout high school and beyond, doing things that scare you are the only way you will fully take advantage of all life has to offer.

High school especially is a time where you are presented with so many opportunities, experiences, and for many, a first taste of freedom. My advice to you is to take advantage of all that BC has to offer. With so many clubs, activities, societies, and in general, such a diverse group of people, this is virtually the only time in your life that you can experiment and truly find yourself with relatively no risk. Take that class, talk to that one person, join that club. You are the only person holding yourself back.

• Nothing is one-size-fits-all.

Throughout the last four years, I have gone through so many notebooks and planners in an attempt to stay organized. I’ve made to-do lists with Notion and on my Notes app. I’ve also gone without using anything at all. I started off taking pretty notes with various pastel highlighters, to Google Docs, and back to minimalistic pen and paper. As you play around, you realize what works for you and what doesn’t. In the same way, what works for someone else might not work for you.

At the end of the day, you are your own person and when making decisions, whether big or small, realize that your academic needs, wants, and priorities are the main focus. I know we’ve all been victim to student influencers on social media who wake up at five in the morning every day and take notes with pristine handwriting while sipping out of their pink Stanley cup. Know that such standards are unrealistic, and at the end of the day, it is most important you get things done in ways that are realistic, attainable, and productive for you.

• Time is money (and maybe more).

As a senior, I feel like my days are flying by. It feels as though just yesterday, I was just a freshman asking upperclassmen for help getting to my classes. Time goes by so fast, and it is one of the only things in your life you will never get more of. You have so much less of it than you realize–take advantage of it.

Of course, this goes in an academic sense. You have twenty minutes of free time before your class ends? Use it to get your homework done. Fifteen minutes before getting picked up from school? Catch up on that reading you’ve been putting off. When you realize how much time you really have in a day, you are able to be so much more productive, accomplishing what you need and getting some time back as a result.​​ There is this false narrative that one cannot adequately balance their wellbeing, academics, and social life–that one will always have to give. This isn’t necessarily true. Obviously there will be moments where you are more focused on one thing than another, but having a healthy school-life-health balance is much more attainable when you work with your limited time, rather than against it.

• Your inside reflects your outside.

As goes with anything, you cannot expect to be productive or truly content if you do not first take care of your mental health. Especially with BC’s rigorous and sometimes competitive environment, it is so incredibly important you make time for yourself too. Unfortunately important things like getting enough sleep or making time for hobbies get overlooked in a kind of productivity-stress culture that is ever so common. Setting aside some time for yourself every day and realizing you don’t always have to be busy can do wonders for your overall happiness–which, of course, is first priority.

• Time blocking is everything.

One thing that’s really helped me overcome my procrastination is to set aside an hour to do things that I don’t want to do. By blocking out time in my day, I am forced to get done what I have been putting off–and in the end, the feeling of accomplishment overrides any initial fears. In general, I find that designating time for things allows you to make time for everything you need to get done without getting too absorbed in one thing.

But, at the end of the day, it’s important to realize that personal success is incredibly subjective. In my years of high school, these are some things that have worked for me, but at the end of the day, your journey is your own. You got this!