At first, I thought my time at Helix could only really be described with one word: luck. 

I was lucky to be able to go to this school–I got in purely by chance in a raffle–and I was lucky to be able to meet all the people that I have. 

As I get closer to the end of my senior year, I’ve found myself reflecting on what Helix did for me, and what else I could have done for myself. The school can really only do so much, and while I’m thankful that mine does a lot, the experience still ultimately comes down to the student. I don’t intend to be preachy here, but now I take it as a fact that your experience solely depends on you.

I had a lot of opportunities during high school. 

I could’ve joined a lot more clubs, communities, or sports–I did not. I could’ve gone for the business or medicine pathway–I did not. I could have taken a lot of extra classes–but I did not. To say that I don’t have any regrets when it comes to high school would make me a liar, but it wouldn’t be the whole truth, either. 

It took some missing out to learn that just about anything is only a matter of what you will do, and not a matter of what you can do. ‘Can’ and ‘will’ are not the same things. Frankly, that’s not my quote, but it still took me four years to figure that out. Hopefully you can be quicker than that. 

But even still, I don’t write this out of spite or bitterness. I said calling me a liar ‘wouldn’t be the whole truth’ earlier, and that’s because it isn’t–those regrets pushed me to eventually make a difference in my life, and in the latter half of my four years at high school, I did those things. 

Feeling those regrets and fearing that I wasted time, I joined clubs and communities, focused on honing skills, and took more classes than I needed to. It may not have been on the most conventional or linear path, but one way or another, I experienced high school. Missing out and having some regrets was just part of that–and that was ultimately what pushed me to changing as a person. 

Honestly, with the way I live now, I don’t have very many regrets at all. High school did that for me. Helix did that for me. And, eventually, I did that for me. It wasn’t all luck. 

I guess I’m just trying to say that we are often the ones that get in the way of what we want to do. I wanted to have a fun and eventful time here at school, but for the first few years, I was never willing to take the initiative that would let that hope come to fruition. When I realized just what I was missing out on, though, that changed pretty quickly. And even if I’m able to say that now, there’s no reason why you should have to say it at all. 

Don’t be passive, and don’t get in your own way–experience everything, and live a little. 

You’ll find you have a lot less regrets that way.

Editor’s note: This piece was written by Helix Charter High senior Xavier Brooks.