82) Iuvate Liberatem

(Above: This author receives his high school diploma)

As I reflect upon the words: "time flies by when you're having fun", I've come to realize that my time was not fun, and did not fly by at all. My high school career has come to an end, and I've been granted a reprieve before I'm shipped off to another fight in college.

Such struggles of life we must endure. And the world keeps on turning.

I know I'm right when I say I've had a unique experience different from everyone else in my graduating class. I don't float this as some horrendously apparent fact. I say it in comparison to the norm of what is expected out of ordinary high school students.

Now that the pomp ceremony is over, I can say in solitude that high school is an experience I will miss. But I won't miss it because I enjoyed the ride. I'll miss it because of the pain.

You see, pain keeps you alive. It reminds you that you're human. It spawns the problems that we must struggle through to survive.

And all those problems spawned from high school can be summarized as a learning experience for me. As my senior year English teacher would agree, I am now a master of pessimism, and all the practical advantages it brings.

Beside that huge and overarching lesson, I'd to share with you a list of what I really learned:

- School crushes your hopes and dreams. That's why no one likes it.

- Schoolwork only tests for bare memory skills, nothing more.
- Alcohol above 40 proof usually requires a chaser.
- If the teacher's not on time, why should you?
- Tolerance is not acceptance.
- There's no difference between a nerd and a idiot, they'll both pass the class.
- Break convention, and prepare to face unforeseen consequences.
- Earning an education and deserving it are two very different things.
- If you think it's a waste of time, it probably is.
- Do everything last minute; the pressure works miracles.
- Suck up to the teacher. You'll always win.
- It's only illegal IF you get caught.
- Trusting your friends to do their part is resigning yourself to fate.
- It'll probably/might/will go wrong. (Murphy's Law)
- The simplest explanation is usually the right one. (Occam's Razor)
- Work hard, play much harder.
- Hope for nothing, fear nothing.
- It's not a lie if everyone is telling it.
- Truth is so relative that nothing is true.
- Don't speak unless it improves the silence.
- Assume nothing, question everything.
- Math teachers use calculators too.
- Idealism has no practical value if you're not going to act.
- Don't hesitate. Ever.
- Losing the battle is not losing the war.
- As long as there is light, there will be shadow.
- First impressions make all the difference.
- Love is pitifully overrated when you're young.
- Stay away from drama. It's like throwing the pin and keeping the grenade.
- There are situations where the bad choice is the only way out.
- Chances are, less than five people will ever really care about you.
- You're nobody. Deal with it.
- Thinking is not doing. Doing is both.

Just a few of the life lessons. Academically, I didn't learn anything that I haven't already forgotten past the chapter tests. What I do remember are fragmented tidbits that won't really carry me anywhere useful.

So just like that, I can say I learned something, although I'm not sure it was worth the sweat and tears.

And when situations like this arise, I find it easier to just let go and move on.

Goodbye, high school. Nice knowing you.