They have graduated early every one. Well, make that about six people. While many of us complain about the trials we experience at Paly, few of us would actually consider getting out early.

Frankly, I envy some of them. I envy those who now feel that rare sense of freedom that comes of finishing one stage in your life. I’m jealous of the prospects they can finally realize. I wish that I was at that stage in my life, but all the same, I wouldn’t want to fast forward to get there. I may hate some aspects of high school — hey we all do at some point, but I don’t think I possess the courage, let alone the nerve, to escape it early.

I mean it really only comes once. High school cult-activities like Winter Formal, Prom, rallies, Spirit Week, Grad Night and Graduation may be an instrument of the institution to control us – as some of my more radically-minded friends believe – but they are nonetheless an experience. You won’t see me out buying my prom dress months in advance, but I appreciate the idea behind events like this. Why? Simply because they are those, yes those, typical high school activities meant to bond people together. You might grumble that I’m just buying into the scheme, but I really think there’s some merit in the school throwing them. I’m not saying you have to go, but I think they are just one way for public schools to create a sense of community. Maybe it’s just my hippy-dippy Ohlone childhood rearing kicking in, but without connecting to people we’re really just alone. Yes, I know you can easily do that without the administration’s help, but at least they acknowledged it and tried, right?

So I’m thinking that yes, it is legitimate to want to leave early, if high school is really hell for you. Maybe you would rather spend that time in Europe or at an internship or even just working a day job. As for the rest of us who didn’t make that leap – that bid for freedom early, we might as well enjoy the rest of our time here. We might as well recognize that while, yes, there are those dull moments, high school’s only going to happen once to us (thank god).

Now I’m not saying that I’m an advocate for this institution, but as I learned in Sociology as the Thomas Theory says, your experience is what you make of it. Now while that sounds like a whole load of crap that your grandmother might say along with "who will buy the cow if the milk comes so cheap?" there is some merit to it. If you set out to enjoy high school by joking around with your teachers (they’re people too, amazingly enough), being friendly towards most people (hey, we can’t like everyone) and paying attention in class to the interesting stuff (you might learn something), chances are you’ll enjoy it more. Now I’m not saying that by forcing yourself to smile actually improves your experience here (although there is some evidence showing that laughing actually improves health), but it will make it more enjoyable for yourself if only because you’ll be amused – by stupid things people say (if you’re cynical) or by yourself (if you’re Narcissus). So enough with the preaching – what am I really getting at?

My point is that if you’re still here in high school and you’re thinking about someplace else that you’d rather be (do I even have to name examples?) it probably isn’t making high school that much more enjoyable for you. Unless you have a super-human imagination or a mild form of schizophrenia, by thinking "this really isn’t that bad" and enjoying what you can, chances are you might just convince yourself you’re having fun.

In any case, whether you are towards the finish line or whether you’re still a freshman baby (or maybe you’ve already graduated), my advice is to chill. Yes, that is a very Californian thing to say, but I’ll say it again. Chill. In fact, chillax.