Vanessa McLaughlin Senior Reflection

I’m going to be quite brutally honest for a few paragraphs, which is something I don’t do often but I feel like now is a good time. Senior year did not go as expected. I think we all get that point. I had planned everything I wanted to do to a T and I had to throw it all down the drain. But you know what? That’s okay.

I’m not here to wallow in my senior reflection because I made the most out of my year. Yes, I have my fair share of regrets but I can’t change the past, so why dwell on it? With everything that’s happened I’m proud of what I have accomplished. I mean, this is a global crisis we are living through. I think we should all be very proud of what we have done.

I always thought high school was supposed to be this perfect experience just like the movies. But no one’s high school experience is the same, and that’s what’s important. It’s unique to you. Personally, I spent most of my highschool life blasting music to try and drown out the sound of my anxiety and scrolling on Twitter but that’s not the point- don’t do that guys. I say that in the most light-hearted way possible.

Highschool isn’t everything either. There’s college and future jobs- and even if the pandemic crushes my expectations of that too, then so be it. I’m going to face it head on!

Funny thing actually, this entire year has been a mess- not only has the pandemic cut off my social interaction, but I just moved across the country. How ’bout that! While all my fellow seniors are in California, I’m in Georgia writing this right now. You all get to walk across the stage but I’m ultimately walking across the country just to graduate and I’m pretty proud of that too.

I suppose there should be a moral to this senior reflection so I will leave you with my very sleep-deprived words of wisdom.

What I learned, and something I want to pass on, is that nothing is for certain. Take chances when you want them. I avoided going to homecoming my first two years of high school just because of silly excuses and because “I can always do it senior year.” Well, now I know I don’t always have the future to leave things for. This pandemic has really opened my eyes to living in the moment. It sounds cheesy but it really does matter.

Stop leaving things for the future and stop overthinking about it. You don’t know what’s going to happen and no one’s plan is set in stone so don’t worry too much about it. Things change all the time and it’s about time we learn to embrace it (by we I really mean myself because I really have to learn to handle change better).

I guess what I’m trying to say in simple terms is: yolo. You only live once and nothing is for certain. So do what you want and live how you want. I know I will.

Yeah, I probably overshared in this reflection and I’ll probably over think it later, but you know what it’s fine, I’m not gonna remember this in a few years lol.