People tell you constantly how these are the most important years or your existence. Why? Well, because what you're doing right now is paving the foundations you'll be standing on, clinging, and reverting back to for the rest of your life: you've been exposed to the world and you're evaluating it based on your own experiences, your likes and dislikes, your virtues and your standards. Your character is now well defined in that you have a sense of who you are, what you want, what you stand for, and where you fit into this fray called life. The world is spinning fast, and as sure as the universe is heliocentric, you're about to join the dizzied masses, you're about to be overwhelmed by vertigo.
Are you ready? Are you prepared to be throttled by temptation, kneed by lack of self esteem, and mugged by set-back? Are you strong enough to withstand defeat and to overcome failure? Better questions yet, are you confident enough to always remember the extent of your capabilities, and the depth of your talents--come what may? Are you brave enough to be true to yourself, to stay humble when you're praised and to remain persistent when you're doubted? Will you always be able to look in the mirror and be proud of who you've become, what you've accomplished, the many lives you've touched?
I think we should be prepared. I think that even though we're in high school, even though we have loving friends and supportive families, even though our grades are good and our accomplishments are many, the most important concept is the concept of self. I think that everyday, when we're fortunate enough to wake up, when we're given another 24 hour chance to prove ourselves to the world, we should focus first on proving our worth to ourselves. We should live ardent lives, we should be as epic as Odysseus and Gilgamesh, we should let our only Achilles heal be that of making ourselves too vulnerable, by putting ourselves out there and investing ourselves in some greater good, in advancements and honorable cause.
No, it's never too early to epitomize your existence. It's never too early to love who you've become and become the person you love. We're young and the world is our avenue. Let's take full advantage of our opportunities, let's take full advantage of ourselves.
