
Looking back at my high school years I remember being very quiet, many times overlooked and overpowered. For a while, after I left high school, I felt like I wasted my high school years being shy, and missing out on so many friends and opportunities. Now as all my peers are getting older and taking our place in society, we are also seeing the results of the actions we made while in high school.
A lot of the students in my school have ended up in rough situations as a result of their attitudes and actions that I witnessed in high school. Majority of my classmates and friends, however, are positive influential people in whatever community they have become a part of. That made me realize I don't have much to regret. The people who overlooked me simply had different interests and goals. Those who overpowered me, actually had some wisdom to contribute that helped me make major decisions, like coming to SUNY Albany. Of course, I could have been more confident in my speech and actions, but that is something I was able to grow into after accepting myself. Now as I am experiencing my senior year in college and seeing how I grew over the years and how everything fell into place, I cherish every part of my journey thus far. I want to continue learning and growing wise like those who inspire me. Overall, I do recognize the downfall of my more passive characteristics in high school, but have also recognized that as long as you are striving for progress, downfalls will only be stepping stones to your continuous success.