This I Have Learned

As the cessation of my secondary education rapidly approaches, I lean back in my cheap plastic chair and consider how I can be emotionally vulnerable enough to make this blog post compelling without exposing any actual psychological weaknesses. I am not bad at this skill due to writing dozens of essays in the college admissions cycle.

I'll take away a quantity of knowledge from my secondary education that people a few centuries ago likely could not imagine. However, the practicality and applicability, as well as the permanence of this academic knowledge is dubious at best. As someone who is going into computer science, chemistry and human geography are probably never going to be applicable to my future career. I took 3 AP exams last year, but I have no doubt that I would get 1s or 2s on those exams if I were to take them today. It is generally accepted that social skills are more permanent than academic knowledge, but I repeatedly failed to exploit any opportunity I had to develop them. I only joined clubs because I was forced to and even then, I left as soon as I could and didn't really socialize with anyone if I didn't have to. I recently heard an interview with a DJ who had grown up in a rural area. He described himself as being from the area, but not really "from there" because he was mostly raised by the internet. I thought this was an elegant description of my situation. The school was simply a backdrop that I had to endure for 7 hours a day, 5 days a week while I pursued my actual interests outside of its walls such as the acquisition of audio equipment, philosophy, and the study of the history of Rome. This is not to say that I did not meet decent people at Troy High, but I new my closest friends long before I started my secondary education.

I don't think that leaving high school will open up an emotional void because in a way, I never thought of myself as part of the Class of 2021 or Troy High in general.  I'm not sure if this was the right course of action, but I have a personal policy of never regretting past events because I know people who are consumed and paralyzed by it. When I think of the prospect of graduation, I have no emotional reaction. For me, graduation isn't an end to anything that I felt was significant or memorable, and I am not really fond of dividing my life into specific categories, climaxes, or turning points like some kind of fantasy novel. Imposition of order and structure onto life is artificial. It begins, continues for a while, and ends. Speaking of endings, I'm going to end this blog post here because I have 6 AP exams to study for.