One thing that has impacted my experience throughout Parkdale are the friends I have and had. My best friend Estephani has impacted my life and senior experience in a positive way and in the short time that we met.

I met her in the beginning of 2022 in my Sociology class, and she thought I was mean, but eventually we started talking and became very close.  She has helped me through my struggles in and out side of school and I do the same for her, so she plays a big role in my success for graduating. Even though we met a couple months ago, it feels like we knew each other forever.

I’ve had other friends, but they didn’t know my struggles or really cared for me like I care for them and honestly to me, it was really a relief to know who my friends are and who has impacted my life in a positive way. High school has really taught me that have a small circle of friends and keeping everything private is for the best for less drama and no toxic/bad vibes in my life.

Lots of things and people have had and impact throughout my high school experience in a positive and negative way. My teachers who I had throughout the years were mostly negative to me, so I struggled a lot and would think something is wrong with me.

My parents had me tested to see if I have ADHD/ADD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), which would make me feel not normal so most teachers would say it’s because I have ADD. I did have a lot of struggles to get to where I am right now but they were all worth it. 

ADHD is one of the most common neuro-developmental disorders of childhood. It is usually first diagnosed in childhood and often lasts into adulthood. Children with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviors (may act without thinking about what the result will be), or be overly active. ADD is the term commonly used to describe symptoms of inattention, distractibility, and poor working memory. 

Being a teenager is hard, mostly if you’re living it in this generation. There will always be unrealistic standards that you will want to live up to but you don’t have to.  I’ve been there, and I’m still there and still trying to find self love and it will take time but I am ready to find it. Depression is real and I can not stress that enough: everyone goes through it.  It might not be a deep depression but it’s there and it’s okay to talk to someone. I know it’s hard so find someone that you really trust, but don’t keep it in. 

I am so grateful that I had an opportunity to go to Parkdale, even though it’s the not the best but it was fun for me. My advice to all the underclassman is to just enjoy it the experience and it might not be the best but you will push through to something even better.

I’ve learned so much about people and who to trust and who not to and even though I’ve lost a lot of “friends,” I’m grateful that I did because they all have lead me to be the person that I am today and have lead me one of my closest friends that I have now.  Overall, it’s more on the positive side.

Thank you Parkdale and staff, teachers for not giving up on us and leading us down the path of the real world.