Starbucks, sass, and stupidity—the three deadly s’s. These were the tenants of the straw man I constructed for my peers when I began high school. I imagined myself as a special snowflake, above and far away from the drunken ballyhoo that my peers were no doubt engaging in. And so I sealed my lips, and made no effort to get to know anyone, instead opting to dwell within my self-constructed solitude.

It is now, with the daunting inevitability of graduation looming over me, that I look back on times like that, and reflect on how I have grown as a person over the years. The truth is, I’m quite stubborn. I am so stubborn that it took me two years to change.

I was lost in a world of my own quixotic and isolationist tendencies, genuinely believing that an 8-hour World of Warcraft marathon was a night well-spent.  It wasn’t until my junior year, when I joined the Bark, that I finally realized the futility of my efforts to hide in solitude. It was in the Bark, through which I met a variety of new people, through interviews and association, that I realized that one doesn’t have to wrap their lips around the cold neck of a spirit, or engage in any other form of debauchery to get out of their house on the weekend.

Making friends wasn’t hard, at that point. Redwood, thankfully, is comprised of a multitude of accepting and interesting social circles. The hard part was accepting that I had spent two years believing a lie. I contemplated whether it was better to be alone and achieve in school, or to run away to a fantasyland of partying and fun. What I learned is that the two are not mutually exclusive. I could spend  a few hours a day programming, and a few with my friends.

I learned that balance is the key to a gratifying high school experience. Studying is paramount—it’s why we attend school—but it’s important to get out of the house and go for a hike, or play some basketball with friends. Strictly doing one or the other leads to loneliness, and self-destruction, respectively. The tendency to go towards one side is strong, but a one-sided life lacks value. Doing both in moderation leads to success, self-fulfillment, and happiness. Don’t be stubborn—if you were a loner like I was, call up your friends, or make some if you don’t have any. If you’re a dedicated socialite, dust off your textbooks and study. If you’re a natural Renaissance man and have been laughing at my bullheadedness, then good for you. It took me too long to hang my horns up on the wall.

I don’t know exactly what the future holds in store for me, but I do know that I’ll spend it in the most balanced way I can.