It'll Fly By

When you start your first year of high school, everyone tells you that those four years will fly by. However, when you find yourself sitting in the high school classroom or walking down the crowded hallway, it’s hard to think about anything other than leaving high school behind.

I felt the exact same way. I went into high school thinking all I wanted to do was finish those four years and head off to college. I joined different activities like speech and marching band. These events were fun, I liked getting to be with friends and participating in extracurriculars. During my sophomore year, I got involved in FFA. Everything I was involved in was a great time, but still a part of me that was just waiting to graduate and move on.

Once I got my license, I attended every football game my junior and senior years. I would trade off driving with a group of friends. Every Friday night we would pile into someone’s car and follow the football team to wherever they were playing that night. Looking back, those two falls went too fast.

When senior year came, many of my classmates started to feel the inevitable “Senioritis.” As our graduation approached, they couldn’t wait to move on to bigger plans. As ready as I had been to leave high school, now I was terrified. I wasn’t ready to leave my little high school that I had grown to love over the last four years. Suddenly, I wanted everything to slow down.

Obviously, I graduated anyway. I now attend Iowa State University. As I started college two weeks ago, a part of me wanted to be back in my high school hallways. When my high school played their first football game, I would have done just about anything to be back in the stands cheering them on. College is a new experience, but don’t let it keep you from enjoying the four years you get to spend in high school.

I’ve been there. High school isn’t always fun. Some days you wish you could graduate right then and there. And you definitely don’t want to hear anyone tell you that those years fly by. I know it seems like the time in high school drags on, but don’t let the time you spend there go uncherished. Take time to enjoy volleyball practice with your teammates. When you march in the halftime show with your band, listen to the cheering crowd. Laugh with your friends at the cheesy school assemblies and sing along to the radio on the way to state convention with your FFA chapter. Make sure to cheer loudly and soak it all in at the Friday night football games. I know it doesn’t always seem like it in the moment, but someday you may miss the times you got to be a student at your high school.

I never thought I would miss my high school. But as senior year wound down, and as I find myself a college student, my heart aches for the times I spent on my school grounds. I miss the people and the activities. I wish I would’ve spent a little more time enjoying the moment as I lived it. It really will fly by, so enjoy making memories as they happen.

Run with your Challenges,

Natalie Jefson

State Secretary