Freshman year, I was the choir girl without a voice.

Sophomore year, I was the new girl (along with the rest of the high school population) and in a moment of sheer determination to be a part of something, I signed up to be a basketball manager with my best friend.

Junior year, I was even more determined to take chances. I abandoned my safety net, and became a novice debater and Journalism 1 student.

Senior year, I found my voice. I became a staff member of the Southwest Standard.

The last two years have felt a lot like playing catch up. If you had told my 14-year-old self that I was going to be the managing editor of a high-school paper, I would have assumed you were insane, and in an awkward fashion, slumped away. And although a part of me wishes my resume read something more like; four year newspaper-staff member, four year basketball manager, and four year State-debater, I am proud of the accomplishments I have made in a short amount of time.

I am proud to have finally found myself.

Because from here on out is only the beginning of the rest of my life.

If you’re reading this, I encourage you to take more risks. To stop being afraid; to fail and to succeed. This is high school, and you have every opportunity to make the most of it, if you choose to. It doesn’t matter if you are an upperclassman or an underclassmen, you still have time to be who you want to be. To make something of yourself.

Don’t associate yourself with anyone who tries to hold you back from being your best. Ignore the voices both in and outside of your head that tell you, you’re too late, or that you’re no good. Trust me, you don’t want to get caught up in the hindsight of what you could’ve been.

These four years are yours. They aren’t your parent’s. They aren’t your teacher’s. They belong to you. Take charge of them, and allow them to help you discover who you are, and who you want to be.

You just may surprise yourself.