Year after year students hear from graduating seniors that their time in grade school went by so fast. They thought four years seemed like such a long time and then suddenly they were seniors. Contrary to popular belief, high school doesn’t always whizz by in a heartbeat. It’s a unique time in life that goes at its own pace, filled with moments that stretch time and make the experience feel longer than I ever expected after hearing what others thought.
Imagine the first day, with its mash of nerves and excitement, setting the stage for a four-year journey. This is what everyone imagines their first day in high school to be, yet ours started a little differently. Locked in our houses without physical interaction, our high school years began through a screen. While many never turned their cameras on from the beginning, my parents told me I had to, even if I was the only one. Despite being able to return in person part-time with restrictions in April of 2021, the year felt long and lonely, with days simply bleeding in and out.
When we finally returned semi-normally in the fall of our sophomore year, we expected to start fresh like freshmen coming in, just a year older. What I was not expecting was how in over my head I felt when we went from a year of practically no legitimate hard work to honors pre-calc, which I continue to believe is one of the worst classes offered. Each day was packed with classes, homework, sports and clubs. The commitments began a routine that would repeat for the next four years, causing the repetition of this daily grind to make days feel long and the end goal of graduation seem far away. These experiences individually were still enjoyable, there was just no way high school was going by as fast as people made it seem.
High school is likewise a time of tremendous personal growth, which its trials and tribulations creating a different feeling of the passing of time for everyone. It’s a time when you’re figuring out who you are and who you want to be. You’re not the person you were when you walked through those high school doors as a freshman. You’ve had to navigate social situations, make and lose friends and maybe even experience your first heartbreak. These experiences are intense and personal and they certainly don’t rush past you as quickly as they may seem.
The academic pressure also adds to the feeling that high school is a marathon, not a sprint. Between studying for the SATs or ACTs, maintaining a high GPA and tackling hours upon hours of difficult homework each night, high school can seem like an endless loop of stress and deadlines. Each project and test is a hurdle that doesn’t just become easier with time, it takes significant effort to overcome.
Along with the hours of homework after coming back from seven hours at school, there are extracurriculars, which are often passions but still take energy each day. Whether it’s sports practices, football games or theater rehearsals, these activities demand your time and dedication. They’re not just after-school obligations, they’re passions that help shape your identity.
There are several milestones that high school students are itching for, that can sometimes feel like they take forever to arrive. Getting your driver’s license, going to prom and applying to colleges are all events that you anticipate for years. The wait for these life events can make it feel like high school is moving at a snail’s pace.
So, while it’s easy to say high school flies by, for those living it day in and day out, it’s a significant and formative time that moves at its own pace. It’s a collection of moments — some quick, some painstakingly slow — that together create an experience that can feel like it lasted a lifetime.
