The night before the first day of my freshman year, I assembled my best outfit and texted a photo to a group chat with my friends from eighth grade.

We had already endured the awkward conversations about the likelihood of our friendships lasting, and we were confident that ours would persevere — yet as months flew by, new circles formed. The frequent messages began to dwindle, and eventually, the group chat was left dormant.

I had never grieved its end until now, but I now come to realize that this one experience is emblematic of high school in its entirety.

While we might envision otherwise, the direction of our future is not always going to be comfortable and concrete — the path forward is often difficult and winding.

As I began to maneuver through the rest of high school, I learned that not only do some friendships dissolve, but that many aren’t even given the opportunity to begin.

I came to learn this lesson recently when I finally accepted that our senior class may not fit the notion I had developed my freshman year: that we would unite as a collective class as a result of our shared experiences.

As the years progressed, I began to acknowledge the solidified groups of individuals clinging to one another, and I noticed the disconnect and exclusivity that plagued our class.

However, the seniors at the time of my freshman year were the exact opposite. Instead of a class defined by smaller subgroups, they radiated with collective friendship — something that’s supposed to happen to every senior class.

For three years, I waited, but by twelfth grade, my class still hadn’t fit the narrative that I had been so eagerly anticipating.

At first, I was gutted by our lack of togetherness, and I let it define my entire perception of high school. I considered all the experiences leading up to this moment to be negative because they didn’t produce the outcome I had expected.

Now, as I conclude my last few days of high school, I have come to accept the reality of our graduating class: we’re not all friends, and that’s okay.

The mistakes, disconnect, and spontaneity that have shaped these four years are still valuable, and it has taught me that growth does not come from perfection, but rather from how we navigate imperfection.

It is a frequent tendency of mine to revisit past experiences and dwell on my regrets or the conversations I wish had unfolded differently. In those moments, it is easy for me to criticize myself for certain things, overlooking their broader significance in the context of life.

While it is important to learn from the past, I have found that it is also essential to not allow the past to prevent you from taking advantage of new learning opportunities.

The foundation of high school is built upon the knowledge we gain from our failures, and the connections we make with others as we help them to cope with failures of their own.

In high school, some relationships are fleeting and others are more enduring, but their duration doesn’t define their value, nor does their ending.

During my time here, I have formed many bonds with others that have left me feeling positive and some that have made me feel negative, but they all share the same collective goal: individual growth.

Over the span of these four years, I have measured the contentment of my high school experience by my social standings with those around me.

I believed that the quantity of my relationships would increase as the years passed, and that by my senior year, my friendships would be abundant.

However, I have since learned that frequency of friendships do not follow a linear path, but rather, one that is volatile.

It is important that we as seniors, and those following us, accept this, because it allows us to better grasp that not all relationships have to end positively to be meaningful, and that the experience of one relationship isn’t limited to just one outcome.

Looking back, I no longer see that eighth grade group chat as collective friendships failed, but rather understand that we were impacted by the inevitable changes of high school. We did not remain the same people, and we should not have expected to.

Every person that enters our lives brings something that we can learn from them, regardless of the longevity of our relationship with them.

As I head into this new chapter in my life, I recognize that even my closest friendships might begin to look different in the face of change as we all head off to college. However, I feel comfort in knowing that each of them were purposeful.

While my high school experience has sometimes felt like a bunch of layered misfortunes, I still wouldn’t change its conclusion, because I know that even the painful moments have shaped the person I am today.