So Long Sophomore

As this year finally begins to conclude, I must say that it has, by far, been the most demanding of my entire life.  In fact, I feel as if many parts of my life have been temporarily suspended because of it.  I understand that this may sound a bit exaggerated and extreme; however, it has been my complete reality for the past ten months. 

This year has placed so much pressure on me.  I have been given far more homework than what is manageable; the amount assigned has been unreasonable and completely unnecessary.  Since the start of this school year, I have spent practically every single night isolated in my bedroom until the early hours of the morning in order to complete my assignments and properly carry out my responsibilities. 

Though the majority of my sophomore year has been full of anguish and stress, I would be lying if I said that there have been no highlights in this torturous epic.  Band, as always, has been extraordinary.  This is the one place that is capable of relieving me of all of my stress… all of my worries.  This place represents the single hour where I am able to completely let go of the outside world.  Without band, I would undoubtedly have given up a long time ago. 

What will be perhaps the greatest highlight of my sophomore year has not yet occurred… it is right around the corner.  In just fourteen days, I will be sixteen, and a few days after this, I will have my license.  I have been waiting so long for this moment to finally get here; with the occurrence of this event, I see myself finally being able to regain my life.  I see myself, my mustang, and endless roads of adventure just awaiting my arrival.

Now, for the words that I have dreamt of saying for quite some time now…

So Long Sophomore.

Regret

 Regret (n) – A feeling of sadness, repentance, or disappointment over something that has happened or been done.

Consider the definition above.  Given this, one would commonly deem regret to be something with no up-side… something that is completely negative and results only in an even greater darkness.  In my opinion, this widespread conception of regret is nothing more than a universal stereotype. 

Though I do understand that regret is painful and full of remorse, I believe that these words only define a small portion of what it truly is.  Looking beyond its surface, I think that regret is a necessary evil.  I say this because, as I stated at the beginning of this paragraph, regret is painful.  Regret causes one to feel guilty and remorseful… shameful, even.  This is the evil part.  As for the necessary component, I believe that the act of experiencing regret causes one to grow and learn.  I believe that becoming familiar with this feeling instills within a person the motivation to right his/her wrongs and prevent them from happening again.  I believe that regret strengthens… I believe that it has the ability to create a better, more worthy person.